UC-NRLF 


The  Actual  Government 
of  Connecticut 


NANCT  M.  SCHOOSMAKEE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/actualgovernmentOOschorich 


The  Actual  Government 
of  Connecticut 


NANCY  M.  SCHOONMAKER 

orCiiiaofMkip 


Published  hj 

National  Woman  Suffrage  Publishing  Co.,  Inc. 

171  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  Gty 

1919 


Copyright   1919 
Nancy  M.  Schoonmaker 


c         «  •«"••• 


To 

The  Women  of  Connecticut 

who  face  the  new  Day  and  prepare  themselves 
for  a  larger  part  in  the  work  of  the  world. 


THE   ACTUAL   GOVERNMENT   OF 
CONNECTICUT 


FOREWORD 


NEITHER  the  author  nor  the  Association  for  which  this 
little  book  has  been  prepared  nurses  the  illusion  that  a 
knowledge  of  the  facts  contained  would  constitute 
an  adequate  equipment  for  good  citizenship.  Our  growing 
appreciation  of  the  value  and  meaning  of  citizenship  would 
make  any  such  narrow  view  impossible.  And  yet  it  is  felt 
that  men  and  women  should  be  better  informed  than  most  of 
us  are  on  the  subject  of  our  own  government.  This,  we 
believe,  is  the  first  step,  perhaps  the  necessary  first  step  toward 
our  goal  of  a  responsible.  enHghtened  democracy.  It  is  well 
known  that  many  a  good  impulse  to  right  a  social  wrong  has 
been  halted  or  lost  because  the  bare  information  as  to  the 
method  of  procedure  was  not  at  hand.  It  is  also  a  matter  of 
common  observation  that  once  a  subject  has  been  presented  to 
us  and  our  interest  aroused,  we  are  apt  to  go  on  finding  more 
and  more  phases  which  appeal  to  us  and  in  which  we  wish 
to  have  a  share.  At  no  time  more  than  in  this  after-the-war 
period,  nowhere  more  than  in  our  own  great  democracy  has 
it  been  more  important  to  arouse  the  people  to  a  sharp  realiza- 
tion of  their  responsibility  in  establishing  government  upon  a 
wider,  more  just  basis.  Citizenship  can  no  longer  be  thought  of 
as  an  honor  or  privilege  which  can  be  bestowed  or  withheld 
at  will,  accepted  or  rejected  as  we  ourselves  see  fit  to  accept 
or  reject  it.  If  democracy  was  worth  the  blood  which  we 
have  spilt  for  it  and  if  we  mean  actually  to  make  it  a  reality. 
we  will  need  the  help  of  every  man  and  woman  the  world 
over.  Our  first  work  therefore  is  to  realize  ourselves  as  parts 
of  our  government  and  to  acquaint  ourselves  with  the  details 
of  its  functioning  so  as  to  be  able  to  do  our  share. 

It  is  with  the  hope  that  we  may.  even  in  a  very 
humble  way,  be  serving  this  larger  end  that  this  little  book  is 
put  forth.  Our  purpose  has  been  to  avoid  technicalities  and 
yet  to  provide  accurate  and  trustworthy  information.  The 
difficulties  of  doing  this  have  been  increased  by  the  fact  that  no 
such  text  had  been  previously  prepared  and  that  the  information 


4     '  ''VhE 'ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

\&f  sdatterecl  and  hidden  in  the  files  which  were  available. 
We  have  endeavored  to  adapt  the  material  to  the  use  of  High 
Schools,  Colleges,  Normal  Schools,  Clubs  and  any  other 
groups  in  which  an  interest  in  Government  could  be  aroused. 
We  have  had  especially  in  mind  also  that  great  body  of  citizens 
whose  enfranchisement  may  confidently  be  expected  very  soon, 
the  women.  They  have  a  very  large  and  positive  contribution 
to  make  to  their  government;  they  are  full  of  the  divine  impulse 
to  help.  They  need  only  to  have  placed  in  their  hands  this 
first  tool.  We  may  look  with  confidence  toward  the  part  they 
will  play  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  new  world. 

We  have  been  given  substantial  help  in  this  rather 
difficult  task  by  city  and  state  officials  who  have  allowed  many 
questions  to  be  referred  to  them.  Our  gratitude  also  goes  in 
very  large  measure  to  Mr.  Samuel  G.  Shaw  and  Mr.  Harrison 
B.  Freeman  by  both  of  whom  the  manuscript  was  read  and 
suggestions  made;  to  Judge  Henry  Wade  Rogers  who  read 
and  gave  valuable  corrections  on  the  chapter  on  Courts;  and 
to  President  Benjamin  T.  Marshall  of  Connecticut  College, 
who  has  given  us  his  very  generous  endorsement. 

Especial  thanks  are  also  due  the  Hartford  Equal 
Suffrage  Association  through  whose  generosity  the  book  was 
made  a  gift  to  the  Connecticut  Woman  Suffrage  Association. 


Nancy  M.  Schoonmaker. 


Hartford,  Conn. 
January,   1919. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACE 

I     Ourselves  and  Our  Government 7 

II     Town  Government 15 

III  County  Government 31 

IV  Borough  Government 38 

V     City  Government 40 

VI     State  Government 49 

VII     National  Government 59 

VIII     Political  Parties 76 

IX     Elections    85 

X     The  Educational  System 91 

XI     Courts 102 

XII  Taxation 107 

XIII  New  Problems 115 


I. 

OURSELVES   AND   OUR   GOVERNMENT 

nr^HE  need  for  government  arises  when  people 
-■■  begin  to  live  in  more  or  less  closely  knit  units 
or  when  they  produce  in  sufficiently  large  quantities 
to  have  an  excess  above  their  own  needs  which  they 
wish  to  dispose  of  to  some  other  group. 

If  we  think  back  to  the  early  period  in  human 
history  when  the  family  was  the  largest  unit,  we  see 
that  whatever  government  there  was  centered  in  the 
father  or  mother  of  the  family  who  dispensed  justice 
or  tyranny  according  to  his  own  impulse  or  ability. 
As  families  gathered  together  in  groups,  drawn  by 
various  considerations  of  convenience,  safety  or  friendli- 
ness, more  laws  and  rules  regulating  their  intercourse 
became  necessary.  Men  who  hunt  together  and  who 
divide  the  spoils  must  have  some  sort  of  basis  of 
justice.  Men  who  fight  together  must  learn  to  submit 
to  authority.  Upon  these  simple  human  needs  rests  the 
foundation  of  government. 

Again  as  the  race  comes  to  the  time  of  settled 
industries,  the  tribes  or  families  develop  a  permanent 
place  of  residence  and  devote  their  time  to  productive 
labor.  Instead  of  hunting  wild  game,  they  begin  to 
breed  and  raise  domestic  animals;  instead  of  searching 
out  wild  grains  and  herbs  and  fruits,  they  plant  and 
tend  what  they  desire  in  some  definite  area  which  they 
have  selected.  And  very  soon  they  discover  that,  even 
under  these  hard  and  primitive  conditions,  they  are 
able  to  produce  more  than  they  need  for  their  own 
use.  This  excess  they  attempt  to  dispose  of  to  other 
groups  whose  output  has  fallen  short  of  their  need  or 


o  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

who  are  perhaps  engaged  in  some  other  industry.  So 
far  this  exchange  is  upon  the  basis  of  barter,  so  much 
of  this  product  for  so  much  of  that.  Money  is  intro- 
duced, trade  increases,  the  need  for  more  deJSnite  regu- 
lation becomes  more  evident  and  imperative.  Another 
stone  is  laid  in  the  foundation  of  government. 

As  community  life  develops,  it  becomes  con- 
stantly more  complicated.  More  and  more  questions 
arise  which  touch  the  lives  of  the  whole  community 
and  which,  therefore,  should  be  settled  by  the  group. 
All  the  people  are  interested  in  keeping  up  the  roads 
which  make  intercourse  possible;  a  common  carrier  for 
mail  is  much  cheaper  than  special  messengers  for  every 
letter;  a  central  store  through  which  trading  may  be 
done  is  a  great  convenience.  In  the  larger  growing 
groups  a  public  system  of  water  works  and  sewerage, 
a  fire  department,  a  common  school  become  necessary. 
TTius  as  we  develop  we  find  that  we  have  more  and 
more  needs  in  common  with  our  fellow  citizens  which 
we  can  satisfy  more  effectively  and  more  cheaply  by 
acting  together  than  by  separate  effort.  This  social 
action  and  control  has,  in  our  modern  world,  grown  to 
such  an  extent  as  our  forefathers  probably  could  neither 
have  foreseen  or  felt  that  they  could  endure.  Our 
food,  our  clothing,  the  conditions  of  our  homes,  our 
treatment  of  our  children,  our  health  and  our  educa- 
tion, the  wages  we  work  for,  all  these  and  many  other 
details  of  our  lives  we  have  found  to  be  matters  of 
social  concern  and,  therefore,  justly  within  the  juris- 
diction of  society.  There  are  few  men  in  the  world 
today  who  live  so  apart  from  their  fellows  as  to  be  able 
to  do  without  the  co-operation  of  other  human  beings. 
We  can  all  of  us  make  our  lives  count  for  much  more 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  9 

for  ourselves  and  render  a  larger  service  to  humanity  if 
we  learn  this  lesson  of  necessary  social  co-operation 
and  adjust  our  lives  to  it. 

Tlie  power  which  seeks  to  regulate  and 
control  this  co-operation  so  that  justice  may  be  done  to 
all  is  what  we  call  government.  Government,  there- 
fore, may  be  defined  as  the  co-operative  management 
of  those  affairs  which  can  be  carried  on  by  joint  or 
social  action  better  than  by  individuals  acting 
separately. 

Government,  as  it  works  itself  out.  develops 
in  one  of  two  general  directions,  toward  a  more  or  less 
wide  and  general  vesting  of  the  power  in  the  people 
themselves,  or  toward  a  centralization  of  power  in  the 
hands  of  one  person  or  a  small  group  of  persons. 
Popular  control,  or  government  by  the  people,  con- 
stitutes a  democracy.  A  centralization  of  power  in 
the  hands  of  one  person  constitutes  an  autocracy. 

Democracy  is  the  highest  ideal  of  govern- 
ment which  mankind  has  conceived.  It  rests  upon  the 
belief  that  all  men  are  capable  of  exercising,  and  should 
be  given,  the  right  to  a  voice  in  determining  the  form 
of  government  under  which  they  live.  Ideally  it  means 
that  every  citizen  has  the  privilege  of  voicing  his 
opinion  through  the  ballot  and  that  these  opinions  must 
be  given  due  consideration.  It  implies  that  all  men, 
high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  ignorant  or  learned  have 
something  to  contribute  to  the  common  good  which 
the  group  cannot  afford  to  do  without. 

The  ideal  of  democracy  did  not  spring  full 
grown  into  our  consciousness.  It  grew  up  with  com- 
parative slowness  even  in  our  own  country.  In  the 
early  days  of  our  democracy,  only  about  one  man  in 


to  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

seven  enjoyed  this  right  of  participating  in  the  govern- 
ment. There  was  a  rehgious,  a  property  and  an 
educational  quaHfication.  We  professed  to  beUeve 
in  democracy,  the  rule  of  all  the  people,  but  our  idea 
of  all  the  people  was  all  the  people  who  conformed  to 
those  standards  which  we  had  set  up.  Gradually, 
however,  our  conception  enlarged  and  we  established 
Democracy  here  in  America  upon  a  manhood  basis. 
Women  were  still  left  out.  But  within  the  last 
century,  we  have  still  further  widened  our  comprehen- 
sion of  popular  government  and  begun  to  realize  that 
women  have  something  to  contribute  to  community 
matters  and  that  sex  is  no  logical  basis  upon  which 
to  exclude  them.  Starting  in  one  of  our  Western 
States,  the  enfranchisement  of  women  has  spread  over 
our  country  until  it  is  safe  to  prophesy  that  within  a 
very  few  years  women  will  be  voting  all  over  America 
upon  exactly  the  same  terms  as  men. 

In  some  of  the  countries  of  Europe  there 
are  still  large  numbers  of  the  working  and  peasant 
population  who  have  never  been  enfranchised.  These 
people  are  today  awakening  to  and  demanding  this 
right,  as  are  also  the  women  of  these  countries,  and 
beyond  any  doubt  one  of  the  certain  results  of  the 
war  will  be  to  secure  to  all  the  people  of  all  countries 
a  much  larger  share  in  their  own  government  than  they 
have  ever  before  enjoyed. 

It  is  not  alone  through  the  ballot,  however, 
that  democracy  finds  expression.  In  order  to  be  truly 
democratic,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  a  country 
must  secure  for  all  its  people  certain  fundamental  re- 
quirements to  a  sane  life.  No  civilization  that  does 
not  provide  adequate  educational  advantages  for  all. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 


It 


that  does  not  put  within  the  reach  of  all  the  people 
opportunities  for  them  to  obtain  by  a  rational  amount 
of  labor  sufficient  food,  clothing  and  shelter  can  hope 
to  stand. 

In  securing  these  essentials  for  themselves 
and  others,  the  people  have  never  found  a  more  potent 
weapon  than  the  ballot.  The  ballot  should,  therefore, 
mean  to  all  of  us  an  opportunity  to  contribute  to  the 
general  well-being  of  our  country.  Even  in  our  own 
country  we  frequently  hear  people  say  that  democracy 
has  not  been  a  success.  But  when  asked  what  they 
would  substitute  in  the  place  of  it.  these  critics  have 
no  reply.  Democracy  in  the  United  States  has  not 
been  as  successful  as  it  should  be.  not  because  men 
and  women  are  incapable  of  governing  themselves, 
but  because  not  enough  men  and  women  have  troubled 
to  take  an  active  share  in  it.  There  is  but  one  cure 
for  a  poor  democracy  and  that  is  more  democracy, 
arousing  more  people  to  an  active  participation  in  the 
work  of  securing  good  government. 

Democratic  government  takes  one  of  two 
forms:  a  pure  democracy;  or  a  representative  form  of 
democracy  which  we  call  a  republic. 

A  pure  democracy  is  one  in  which  all  men 
and  women  above  a  certain  age  come  together  and 
vote  upon  any  or  all  questions  which  pertain  to  their 
government.  The  New  Ejigland  town  meeting  is 
the  nearest  approach  to  a  pure  democracy  that  we 
have  in  America  today.  It  falls  short  of  this  ideal 
of  democracy  when  it  limits  its  voters  to  the  male  half 
of  the  population. 

A  republic,  which  is  another  form  of 
democratic  government,  is  one  in  which  voters  select 


12  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

men  and  women  to  represent  them  in  their  legislative 
congresses  and  to  make  laws  for  them. 

All  representative  forms  of  government  are 
not  democratic.  The  representative  must  be  chosen 
by  the  people  upon  some  even,  justly  apportioned  basis 
before  a  representative  government  becomes  demo- 
cratic. TTie  most  autocratic  government  in  the  world 
today  is  representative  in  form;  so  is  the  most  demo- 
cratic government.  In  the  autocracies,  the  representa- 
tives are  sometimes  appointed  by  the  ruler  who  then 
controls  their  votes;  sometimes  one  district  will  have 
many  times  the  representatives  another  district  will  be 
allowed;  sometimes  the  representative  enjoys  the  honor 
as  a  heritage  from  his  father,  being  born  to  his  seat  in 
the  governmental  body  and  in  no  way  responsible  to 
the  people  whom  he  represents.  In  a  democratic  repre- 
sentative government,  or  republic,  the  representatives 
are  elected  upon  some  sort  of  popular  basis,  and  the 
people  have  it  in  their  power  to  choose  the  men  they 
want  to  represent  them. 

The  National  Government,  our  States  and 
most  of  our  cities  are  representative  in  form,  and  demo- 
cratic. The  United  States  is  a  Republic.  The  States 
are  little  republics  included  within  the  nation;  the 
cities  are  still  smaller  republics,  included  within  the 
States.  Our  National  Government  is,  therefore,  a 
federation  or  union  of  smaller  units  which  are  them- 
selves republics  and  which  enjoy  a  very  great  degree 
of  individual  responsibility  and  freedom.  We  will 
see  later  how  far  this  privilege  of  self  government 
extends,  what  authority  the  National  Government  has 
over  the  States  and  in  what  way  it  secured  its  power. 
We  have,  as  we  know,  various  other  divisions  in  our 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  13 

government,  such  as  the  county  and  the  town.  It 
may  be  of  help  to  us  to  conceive  of  our  nation  as  the 
great  circle  in  which  all  the  people  and  all  the  divisions 
are  included.  Within  that  circle  are  forty-eight  smaller 
circles  representing  the  States.  Within  those  States 
are  the  smaller  circles  which  we  call  counties.  Within 
the  counties,  the  smaller  circles  of  the  towns;  within 
the  towns  the  still  smaller  circles  of  the  cities  and 
boroughs.  They  each  enjoy  a  certain  amount  of  inde- 
pendence, and  yet  they  are  all  of  them  bound  together 
by  certain  general  limitations  and  requirements  from 
which  no  one  of  them  may  escape.  But  this  does  not 
mean  that  they  are.  for  this  reason,  undemocratic. 
Democracy  means  freedom  for  the  individual  person 
or  unit  of  government  only  in  so  far  as  that  freedom 
does  not  encroach  upon  the  rights  of  others. 

In  studying  these  units  of  government,  we 
shall  give  our  attention  first  to  the  town.  We  do  this 
because,  although  the  city  or  borough  is  included  in 
the  town,  the  town  is  really  the  smallest  unit  through 
which,  for  general  purposes,  the  state  government 
functions;  also  because  we  are  all  of  us  more  or  less 
familiar  with  the  officials,  the  machinery,  the  aim  and 
accomplishments  of  town  government.  We  shall, 
therefore,  be  upon  ground  which  is  not  entirely  strange. 
In  studying  the  government  of  Connecticut,  there  is 
still  another  reason  why  we  should  begin  with  the  town 
unit,  and  that  is  because  the  town  is  really  older  than 
the  state  government  and  has  always  been  regarded 
as  a  most  important  unit  the  independence  of  which 
must  be  carefully  preserved. 

We  shall  find,  as  we  take  up  the  study  of  the 
various  units,  that  they  have,  most  of  them,  three  de- 


14  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

partments  or  branches  through  which  the  government 
is  carried  on.  These  are :  the  legislative,  the  executive 
and  the  judicial  branch. 

The  legislative  department  makes  the  laws. 

The  executive  department  executes  the  laws. 

The  judicial  department  interprets  the  laws, 
determining  what  constitutes  unlawful  conduct  or  un- 
constitutional law. 

Let  us,  therefore,  ask  ourselves  these  two 
questions  about  each  unit  as  we  take  it  up :  1 .  Is  it 
a  pure  democracy  or  a  representative  democracy? 
2.  Has  it  a  legislative,  an  executive  and  a  judicial 
department  ? 

The  nation,  the  state,  the  city,  each  has  its 
body  of  laws,  formulated  perhaps  at  the  beginning 
of  its  existence,  rewritten,  altered  or  added  to  as  the 
years  have  gone  by.  In  the  nation  and  the  state,  this 
document  of  lav/s  and  principles  is  called  a  constitu- 
tion. In  the  city,  it  is  called  a  charter.  The  city 
charter  and  the  state  constitution  must  in  no  way  in- 
fringe upon  the  national  constitution. 


15 


II. 

TOWN  GOVERNMENT 

TN  Connecticut  the  town  is.  as  we  have  said, 
^  a  very  old  and  important  unit  of  government.  In 
1633  a  group  of  men  and  women  left  the  Puritan 
settlers  in  Massachusetts,  drove  on  farther  into  the 
wilderness  and  set  up  homes  for  themselves  on  the  bank 
of  a  strange  river.  That  river  is  what  we  now  call 
the  Farminglon;  the  town  which  they  settled  is  now 
known  as  Windsor.  TThere  were  probably  good  oppor- 
tunities for  trading  in  this  nevy  territory,  for  more  land 
was  bought  from  the  Indians,  the  herds  of  cattle  were 
increased  and  other  groups  moved  in  and  settled  what 
we  now  know  as  Wethersfields  and  Hartford.  These 
towns  were  not  yet  named,  nor  was  there  any  definite 
form  of  local  government.  But  remember  that  these 
early  settlers  were  Englishmen,  that  they  had  left  their 
far  away  homes  for  the  express  purpose  of  seeking 
religious  freedom,  and  that  they  were  made  up  of 
church  groups  or  congregations  who  wished  to  hold 
together.  They  were  aware  that  in  England  at  this 
time  the  town  unit,  with  which  they  were  familiar  and 
which  they  would  naturally  follow  in  establishing  their 
government  in  America,  could  become  a  legally  recog- 
nized unit  only  when  it  had  or  had  had  a  church  in 
which  services  were  held.  To  satisfy  this  requirement 
as  well  as  their  own  deeper  desire  for  religious  ex- 
pression, they  very  promptly  set  up  their  little  churches. 
The  management  of  the  public  affairs  naturally  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  church  groups.  And  it  was 
natural  also,  in  choosing  names  for  their  new  homes. 


16  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

that  these  men  should  remember  the  places  with  which 
they  were  familiar  in  England.  We  find  that  almost 
all  of  these  early  towns  were  named  for  some  English 
castle,  royal  residence  or  parish. 

In  1638  these  first  three  Connecticut  towns 
voted  upon  and  adopted  the  First  Constitution  of 
Connecticut.  This  is  a  wonderful  old  document,  short, 
explicit,  and  liberal.  The  government  which  it  set 
up  was  called  a  Combination  or  Confederation 
of  towns  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  liberty  and 
purity  of  the  gospel  and  of  conducting  their  civil  affairs 
according  to  such  laws  as  the  people  decreed.  Our 
great  national  constitution  was  largely  built  upon  the 
principles  set  down  in  this  first  real  written  constitu- 
tion, which  proved  itself  so  satisfactory  that  not  until 
1818  did  the  people  of  Connecticut  feel  it  necessary 
to  adopt  a  new  one. 

The  Charter  which  the  English  King, 
Charles  II,  granted  to  Connecticut  in  1662  is  also  a 
very  liberal,  though  much  more  long-winded  document. 
A  later  king,  you  remember,  felt  that  it  granted  far 
too  many  privileges  to  the  people  and  made  a  great 
effort  to  withdraw  it,  but  he  was  not  successful. 

As  more  and  more  of  the  near-by  territory 
came  into  the  hands  of  the  whites  and  more  towns 
were  formed,  the  people  selected  a  name  for  their 
town,  to  be  confirmed  by  the  General  Court, 
and  were  given  equal  representation  in  the  General 
Court  itself  which  that  first  Constitution  provided  for. 
This  is  the  origin  of  a  very  important  characteristic  of 
the  representation  still  in  force  in  Connecticut,  and 
which  we  will  study  later.  It  is  important  now  because 
it  shows  us  how  the  government  of  the  state  grew  out 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  1/ 

of  and  has  always  given  such  large  recognition  to  the 
town. 

TTiese  towns,  or  townships  as  they  are  called 
in  some  stales,  should  not  be  confused  with  villages. 
Towns  are  units  of  territory,  the  outlines  of  which 
are  determined  by  the  state  legislature,  little  states 
within  the  state,  enjoying  more  or  less  independence 
and  power.  They  are  smaller  than  the  county  and 
larger  than  the  school  district.  A  town's  entire  territory 
may  be  occupied  by  a  city,  parts  of  the  city  even 
extending  over  into  the  adjoining  town,  or  it  might  be 
entirely  rural  with  not  even  an  incorporated  borough 
in  it.  But  in  every  case,  the  town  government  remains 
at  least  theoretically  active  though  the  more  compli- 
cated city  problems  have  in  fact  made  it  necessary  to 
superimpose  city  officials  who  have  most  of  the  re- 
sponsibility of  carrying  on  the  local  government. 

There  is  in  every  town  a  town  hall  in  which 
the  records  are  kept,  meetings  are  held  and  the  officials 
have  their  offices.  TThis  property  is  owned  by  the  town. 
In  order  to  own  and  control  this  and  other  town  prop- 
erty, it  is  necessary  for  the  tov^  to  be  incorporated. 
This  is  done  through  the  legislature,  after  which  the 
town  has  a  legal  right  to  own.  buy.  sell  and  rent  prop- 
erty, to  borrow  and  lend  money  and  to  levy  taxes. 

The  168  towns  in  Connecticut  have  been 
formed  by  a  process  of  subdivision,  of  the  older,  larger 
units.  This  division  is  also  accomplished  through  the 
Legislature  which  must  be  consulted  and  must  give 
its  consent.  The  last  town  so  formed  was  that  of 
Ansonia,  which  was  incorporated  from  Derby  in  1 889. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  details  of  town  gov- 
ernment, the  first  unit  we  are  to  take  up.     We  find 


18  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

first  of  all  that  it  is  a  very  genuine  sort  of  democracy. 
If  the  people  in  the  town  do  not  like  a  certain  law, 
they  have  it  in  their  power  to  change  the  law.  If  they 
do  not  like  the  way  the  laws  are  executed,  they  can, 
any  man  among  them,  at  the  next  town  election  nomi- 
nate any  man  they  are  inclined  to  for  the  executive  office. 
In  other  words  the  people  of  the  towns  make  their 
own  laws  instead  of  electing  other  people  to  make  them 
for  them.  Any  man  who  has  been  made  a  voter  in  the 
town  has  a  right  to  propose  any  laws  he  wishes  or 
discuss  any  laws  which  have  been  proposed.  This 
means  that  the  town  government  is  not  representa- 
tive in  form,  but  is  a  pure  democracy.  At  least  it  is 
the  nearest  approach  to  a  pure  democracy  that  we 
have  in  America.  In  the  New  England  states  where 
the  town  unit  is  particularly  distinct,  women  have  not 
been  given  the  right  to  vote.  The  New  England  town 
falls  short,  therefore,  of  pure  democracy  in  that  it  limits 
the  franchise  to  half  the  people. 

In  order  to  conduct  its  own  affairs,  the  town 
needs  laws,  it  needs  special  officers  to  execute  the  laws, 
and  other  special  officials  to  determine  and  portion  out 
justice.  The  town  government  has,  therefore,  three 
departments,  the  legislative,  the  executive,  and  the 
judicial. 

The  legislative  department  of  the  town  is 
not  like  that  of  the  other  units  of  our  government.  In 
the  town  it  is  the  people  themselves  and  not  any  body 
of  representatives  who  make  the  laws.  They  do  this 
at  the  town  meetings.  Before  the  regular  town  meet- 
ing, held  once  a  year  in  most  of  the  towns,  once  in 
two  years  in  a  few  of  the  towns,  notices  must  be  posted 
so  that  everyone    may    be    informed    of    the    coming 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  19 

event.  All  the  people  in  the  town  are  allowed  to 
attend  and  it  is  here  that  necessary  legislation  is  en- 
acted. Only  those  men  and  women  who  have  been 
"made  voters**  have  the  legal  right  to  take  part  in  the 
business  of  the  meeting,  but  very  often  this  is  not 
strictly  enforced  and  anybody  present  is  allowed  to 
propose  or  speak  upon  any  by-law.  At  these  meetings 
all  the  business  which  concerns  the  town  management  is 
discussed  and  determined.  Besides  this,  the  town  officers 
are  elected,  the  amount  of  money  to  be  spent  by  the 
town  is  decided  upon  and  the  tax  rate  determined. 
Special  town  meetings  may  be  called  by  the  selectmen 
whenever  it  is  deemed  necessary.  These  must  be 
advertised  in  the  same  way  as  the  regular  meetings. 
Most  of  the  towns  in  Connecticut  hold  their  regular 
town  meeting  the  first  Monday  in  October.  The 
twenty-five  exceptions  hold  their  meetings  in  November 
or  in  the  spring,  once  in  two  years.  At  both  regular 
and  special  town  meetings,  women  are  allowed  to  vote 
on  school  and  library  questions. 

The  town  officers  elected  at  the  town  meet- 
ing constitute  the  executive  department  of  town  govern- 
ment. Not  all  of  the  towns  elect  the  same  number 
of  officials,  but  in  all  towns  there  seems  to  be  a  rather 
generous  list  of  offices  to  be  filled.  These  offices  are 
usually  passed  around  from  one  member  to  another  of 
the  community  and  in  time  most  of  the  men  in  a  town 
are  called  upon  to  fill  some  sort  of  town  office. 
Fortunately  for  the  people  out  of  whose  taxes  the 
money  would  have  to  come,  not  all  of  these  officials 
are  paid  and  some  of  them  are  paid  only  when  they 
are  actually  at  work  for  the  town.  This  does  not 
involve  a  hardship  for  town  officers,  as  the  work  of 


20  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

most  of  these  offices  would  occupy  only  a  small  portion 
of  the  man*s  time.  It  is  also  not  an  uncommon  thing 
for  one  man  to  hold  more  than  one  office  at  the  same 
time.  The  town  clerk,  for  instance,  is  ex-officio  reg- 
istrar in  which  capacity  he  keeps  the  vital  statistics 
and  issues  marriage  licenses.  He  is  often  also  the 
treasurer.  There  are  several  reasons  why  men  are 
usually  glad  to  accept  these  small  offices.  One  is  that 
it  is  usually  a  proof  that  they  have  won  the  respect  of 
their  community,  another  is  that  these  small  offices 
are  often  the  stepping-stone  to  some  larger,  more  im- 
portant position,  but  surely  the  most  important  one 
is  that  in  office  a  man  or  woman  has  a  larger  oppor- 
tunity for  serving  his  government  and  society  than  he 
has  out  of  office. 

Not  all  towns  elect  the  same  number  of 
officials,  but  the  following  is  a  list  of  those  found  in 
most  of  the  Connecticut  towns: 

Selectmen,  usually  three,  sometimes  one, 
two,  four  or  five. 

Town  Clerk. 

Assessors,  usually  three,  sometimes  two  or 
four  or  five. 

Tax  Collector. 

Treasurer. 

Auditors,  usually  two. 

Constables,  one  to  seven. 

Board  of  Relief,  three  or  more. 

Grand  Jurors,  five  or  more. 

Registrars  of  Voter,  two  or  more. 

Tree  Warden. 

School  Committee,  School  Visitors  or  Board 
of  Education. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  21 

The  day  after  election  the  town  clerk  noti- 
fies the  successful  candidates  of  their  election.  He  also 
swears  in  the  new  officials.  Any  man  who  is  elected 
to  a  town  office  and  who.  without  good  reason,  refuses 
to  serve  may  be  fined  $5.  Women  are  eligible  to  serve 
as  members  of  the  Board  of  Education,  School  Com" 
mittee  or  Board  of  School  Visitors. 

The  selectmen  are  the  most  important 
officials  in  the  executive  branch  of  town  government, 
and  are  known  as  the  Board  of  Selectmen.  Where 
there  is  more  than  one  selectman,  the  board  is  what  we 
call  bi-partisan,  that  is  the  members  must  be  chosen 
from  different  parties.  The  majority  of  them,  two 
out  of  three  or  three  out  of  five,  represent  the  party 
casting  the  largest  vote;  the  others,  the  minority  party. 
This  result  is  secured  by  allowing  each  voter  to  vote 
not  for  all  the  selectmen  to  be  chosen,  but  for  only 
two  out  of  three  or  three  out  of  five.  Thus  the  practice 
of  minority  representation  gives  both  parties  a  voice 
in  the  government  and  is  essentially  democratic.  It 
holds  a  very  fundamental  place  in  the  government  of 
Connecticut,  appearing  in  town,  city  and  state  boards, 
commissions,  etc.,  both  elective  and  appointive,  and  is 
something  of  which  the  people  may  be  justly  proud 
and  which  they  should  be  most  careful  to  preserve. 
It  may  be  objected  that  now  since  we  have  more 
than  two  political  parties,  all  of  the  people  still 
do  not  have  representation  on  these  bi-partisan 
boards.  This  is  true;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
this  practice  was  begun  when  there  were  but  two  parties 
and  was  a  genuine  attempt  at  democracy  such  as  not 
many  states  may  boast.  It  is  at  all  events  more  demo- 
cratic than  to  give  all  the  power  over  into  the  hands 


22  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

of  the  majority  party.  As  the  new  parties  grow,  it 
will  remain  for  us  to  work  out  some  system  by  which 
the  members  of  even  the  smallest  of  them  may  have 
representation  in  the  government. 

The  duties  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  are 
in  general  to  see  that  the  laws  which  have  been  passed 
by  the  people  at  the  town  meetings  are  put  into  force. 
They  call  the  town  meetings;  manage  the  finances;  lay 
out  highways  and  bridges;  build,  manage  and  keep  in 
repair  all  town  property;  provide  for  the  care  of 
paupers  and  orphans;  and  do  whatever  they  are  called 
upon  to  keep  the  town  affairs  in  order.  The  First 
Selectman,  in  most  towns  the  one  who  received  the 
largest  number  of  votes,  sometimes  especially 
nominated  for  the  office,  is  head  of  the  board  and  is 
usually  the  one  in  whose  hands  the  chief  power  rests. 
It  is  to  him  that  you  would  go  to  take  up  any  matter 
concerning  the  town  affairs.  It  depends  very  much 
upon  the  character  of  the  men  chosen  as  to  how  much 
or  how  little  the  Board  of  Selectmen  do,  but  as  they 
have  rather  wide  powers,  it  being  within  their  right 
on  occasions  to  follow  their  own  judgment  rather  than 
the  instructions  given  by  the  voters,  it  is  highly  im- 
portant that  only  honest  and  reliable  men  be  chosen 
for  this  office. 

The  town  clerk  is  clerk  of  the  town  meet- 
ings and  keeps  the  town  records.  In  his  office  all  deeds, 
mortgages  and  certificates  are  recorded,  as  well  as 
births,  marriages  and  deaths.  He  also  issues  marriage 
certificates  and  burial  permits,  and  grants  certain 
licenses  other  than  liquor  licenses.  While  his  office 
is  a  necessary  one,  he  has,  in  fact,  very  little  part  in 
the  actual  administration  of  government. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  23 

The  selectmen  and  the  town  clerk  also  make 
up  the  Board  of  Registration,  the  body  before  whom 
people  go  to  be  **made  voters."  In  Connecticut  no 
man  or  woman  can  vote  until  they  have  been  **made/* 
that  is  until  they  have  given  proof  that  they  can  fulfill 
the  qualifications  which  the  state  requires,  and  their 
names  have  been  entered  upon  the  voting  list.  The 
qualifications  are:  the  voter  must  be  twenty-one.  a 
natural  bom  or  naturalized  citizen,  able  to  read,  of  a 
good  moral  character,  a  resident  of  the  state  one  year 
and  of  the  town  six  months.  In  order  to  be  made  a 
voter,  a  man  or  woman  makes  application  upon  blanks 
furnished  for  the  purpose.  Upon  a  certain  appointed 
day  or  days,  he  must  appear  in  person  before  the 
Board  of  Registration,  who  have  made  up  a  list  of 
those  who  have  applied  to  be  **made,**  and  show  that  he 
can  read  and  take  an  oath  of  loyalty  to  the  state  and 
nation.  He  is  then  registered  as  a  voter.  He  does  not 
have  to  do  this  again,  unless  he  moves  into  another 
town  or  in  case  he  has  been  disfranchised  because  of 
a  crime. 

TTie  towns  of  Connecticut  have  also  an 
elected  Board  of  Registrars  composed  of  one  or  more 
Democrats  and  Republicans  whose  duty  it  is  to  make 
up  and  have  charge  of  the  voting  list,  the  caucus  list 
and  also  the  roll  of  personal  tax.  They  go  about  and 
have  canvassers  out  to  keep  themselves  informed  as  to 
corrections  that  must  be  made  in  their  lists  owing  to 
removals,  change  of  address,  deaths,  disfranchisement, 
etc.  It  is  important  that  we  should  ourselves  notify 
this  board  when  we  change  our  address  so  that  we  shall 
be  sure  to  be  listed  in  the  ward  or  precinct  where  we 
go  to  vote.     The  voting  list  contains  the  names  of  all 


24  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

voters,  the  caucus  list  the  names  of  those  enrolled  in 
the  different  parties.  This  list  is  for  the  purpose  of 
making  sure  that  only  those  enrolled  in  a  given  party 
attend  that  party's  caucus.  The  Board  of  Registrars 
sits  with  the  Board  of  Registration  when  voters  are 
made,  but  take  no  part  in  the  ceremony  except  to  enter 
the  names  of  the  new  voters  upon  their  lists. 

The  officials  who  are  perhaps  best  known 
to  all  people  in  the  town  are  the  men  who  have  to  do 
with  our  taxes,  the  Assessors  and  Collector.  There  are 
certain  limitations  of  residence,  sex,  age  and  education 
upon  the  franchise,  but  these  do  not  apply  to  taxes. 
Everybody,  old  and  young,  rich  or  poor,  ignorant  or 
wise,  male  or  female  must  pay  taxes  on  property.  A 
poll  or  personal  tax  of  $2.00  upon  all  men  between 
the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  sixty  reaches  the  very  poor 
or  those  men  too  ignorant  to  be  made  voters.  The 
agent  through  whom  all  this  transaction  is  carried  on 
must,  therefore,  have  come  into  the  horizon  of  most 
of  us. 

Most  of  the  Connecticut  towns  elect  three  Tax 
Assessors  whose  business  it  is  to  determine  the  value 
of  all  property  within  the  town  limits.  They  should 
be  acquainted  with  real  estate  values  and  their  honor 
should  be  above  question.  At  a  certain  time  in  the 
year  blanks  are  issued  to  all  property  owners  who  are 
required  to  file  with  the  Assessors  a  list  of  all  their  tax- 
able property,  both  real  and  personal.  These  lists  must 
be  sworn  to  and  in  nearly  every  town  and  city  in  the 
state  must  be  handed  in  during  the  month  of  October. 
In  a  few  places  this  must  be  done  during  September. 
There  is  no  obligation  resting  upon  the  taxpayer  to 
put  a  value  on  his  property  and  if  he  does,  this  is  a 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  25 

mere  estimate,  supposed  to  be  of  assistance  to  the  tax 
officials,  and  he  does  not  swear  that  this  is  the  true 
value.  A  failure  to  file  a  list  within  the  time  required 
by  law  results  in  a  ten  per  cent,  addition  to  the  value 
of  the  property  listed.  When  the  lists  are  completed 
the  Assessors  make  up  what  is  known  as  the  tax  abstract 
in  which  is  contained  the  names  of  all  property  owners, 
the  amount  of  their  taxable  property,  real  and  personal 
and  its  valuation.  If  anyone  feels  that  he  has  been  un- 
justly treated  in  that  too  high  a  valuation  has  been  put 
upon  his  property,  he  may  go  in  person  before  the  Board 
of  Relief,  three  or  more  men  elected  for  the  purpose, 
who  sit  the  first  twenty  working  days  in  February,  and 
make  his  complaint.  If  his  point  proves  to  be  well  taken, 
he  may  have  his  assessment  reduced.  The  poll  and 
military  or  personal  tax  is  a  fixed  amount  and  is  not  sub- 
ject to  readjustment  by  the  Board  of  Relief.  The 
tax  rate  is  fixed  by  the  town  meeting  or  the  Board  of 
Finance,  the  amount  to  be  paid  as  state  and  county 
taxes  having  been  sent  in  and  also  the  amount  which 
the  town  has  decided  to  expend  upon  its  own  improve- 
ments and  running  expenses  entering  into  the  calcula- 
tion. 

Hiere  are  one  or  two  points  which  it  is  neces- 
sary to  understand  with  regard  to  taxation.  First,  that 
sometimes  it  is  advisable  to  leave  the  valuation  of  your 
property  to  the  Assessors.  TTiis  depends  largely  upon 
local  conditions,  and  in  every  case  should  be  done  if 
you  are  not  sure  at  what  per  cent,  of  its  actual  value 
property  in  that  particular  town  or  city  is  assessed.  If 
your  property  is  of  a  different  character  from  the  rest 
of  the  property  in  the  place  where  it  is  located,  then 
it  is  wise  to  give  the  Assessors  some  idea  of  its  value 


26  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

by  putting  your  own  estimate  upon  it.  Second,  that 
although  Assessors  are  coming  to  pay  less  and  less 
attention  to  the  valuation  of  owners  and  are  assessing 
property  at  more  nearly  its  full  value,  probably  a  com- 
paratively small  amount  of  property  of  the  state  is 
assessed  at  its  actual,  selling  value.  While  some  real 
estate  is  actually  assessed  for  more  than  its  market 
value,  property  is  more  often  assessed  at  sixty,  seventy 
or  eighty-five  per  cent.  Ignorant  of  this,  people  have 
sometimes  even  given  a  ficticiously  high  value  as  though 
pricing  it  to  a  prospective  buyer,  only  to  be  told,  when, 
informed  that  other  neighboring  property  was  valued 
at  a  much  lower  rate,  they  applied  to  the  Board  of 
Relief,  that  the  Assessors  had  taken  the  owner's  own 
word  as  to  the  value  and  no  relief  could  be  granted. 
There  is  nothing  immoral  or  unjust  in  having  your 
property  assessed  at  less  than  its  actual  value  provided 
the  same  rate  of  valuation  is  applied  throughout  the 
town  to  everybody's  property.  The  injustice  arises 
when  through  influence  or  bribery  men  are  able  to 
slip  their  property  in  at  a  very  low  valuation  while 
other  people  are  forced  to  pay  at  a  much  higher  figure. 
It  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  where  property  is 
assessed  at  anything  like  an  equal  proportion  it  makes 
no  difference  whether  the  valuation  be  high  or  low. 
Once  the  amount  to  be  raised  is  determined,  lifting 
the  valuation  of  property  only  lowers  the  tax  rate,  or 
lowering  the  valuation  lifts  the  rate.  In  the  end  it  is 
the  same  thing. 

When  the  value  of  the  property  and  the 
tax  rate  have  been  determined,  it  is  then  the  business 
of  the  Tax  Collector  to  see  that  the  taxes  are  all  paid 
in  to  him.     The  tax  bills  are  sent  out  at  different  times 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  27 

of  the  year  in  different  places,  there  being  a  great  vari- 
ation in  this  respect.  One  month  is  allowed  for  pay- 
ment without  penalty  and  after  that  54%  is  added  the 
first  of  each  month  for  the  first  year  the  tax  remains 
unpaid.  If  not  paid  within  the  year,  it  is  liened  and 
then  interest  is  charged  at  the  rate  of  7%  a  year. 
This  lien  remains  on  the  property  until  the  tax  is  paid 
and  may  be  foreclosed  at  any  time  by  the  town  or 
municipality.  Anything  above  the  amount  of  taxes 
due  which  may  be  realized  from  the  sale  of  the  prop- 
erty will  be  turned  back  to  the  owner.  If  a  man 
refuses  to  pay  his  personal  tax.  he  may  be  arrested 
and  imprisoned  until  he  works  out  the  anwunt  of 
$2.00.  Unpaid  personal  property  taxes  are  collected 
through  the  courts. 

After  the  taxes  have  been  collected  they 
are  turned  over  to  the  Town  Treasurer  who  pays 
out  the  money  for  town  expenses  upon  the  order  of 
the  Selectmen.  He  has  also  to  pay  over  to  the  County 
and  State  Treasurer  that  portion  of  the  taxes  which 
has  been  allotted  to  the  town  as  its  share  of  county 
and  state  expenses.  Both  the  Collector  and  the 
Treasurer  must  give  bond  for  the  faithful  performance 
of  their  duty.  All  accounts  which  pass  through  the 
hands  of  town  officials  must  be  audited  by  the  town 
Auditors. 

The  business  of  preserving  order  in  the  town 
rests  in  the  hands  of  two  groups  of  officials,  the 
Constables  and  the  Grand  Jurors.  The  Constables  do 
police  duty.  Some  towns  have  only  one,  some  towns 
have  seven,  the  number  depending  perhaps  not  so  much 
upon  the  number  of  people  in  the  towns  and  their  evil 
intentions  as  upon  a  pleasant  sense  of  boasting  a  large 


28  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

and  gratifying  list  of  officials.  Besides  making  arrests 
and  taking  offenders  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  or 
Town  Court  for  trial,  the  Constables  serve  summonses 
and  subpoenas,  writs  and  warrants,  and  generally  may 
be  held  responsible  for  the  safety  of  persons  and  prop- 
erty in  the  town.  They  act  when  they  are  reasonably 
certain  either  from  having  witnessed  it  themselves  or 
when  they  have  had  a  very  direct  report  of  a  crime  or 
offense.  But  there  are  many  times  cases  of  crime  or 
misdemeanor  upon  which  no  one  volunteers  to  report 
and  to  which  these  constables  have  not  been  a  wit- 
ness.     It   is   here    that   the    Grand   Jurors   step   in.* 

*  TTiese  grand  jurors  should  not  be  confused  with  the  grand 
jury  or  the  petit  jury  for  which  the  national  and  state  constitu- 
tions provide. 

In  this  state  the  grand  jury  for  each  county  is  made  up  of 
eighteen  electors,  chosen  by  the  sheriff.  Their  duty  is  to  inquire 
into  criminal  cases  submitted  to  them  by  the  State's  Attorney 
and  report  their  findings  to  the  court.  If  they  believe  a  person 
to  be  guilty  they  indict  him  for  trial  in  the  court.  Only  upon 
such  an  indictment  from  them  may  any  one  be  held  to  trial  for 
a  crime  punishable  by  death. 

The  petit  jury  is  a  body  of  twelve  men  chosen  from  the 
electors  of  the  town.  Each  town  is  allowed  by  statute  a  certain 
number  of  jurors,  the  number  varying  in  different  towns.  The 
selectmen  nominate  twice  this  number,  one  half  of  whom  are 
then  chosen  by  the  Jury  Commission.  The  clerk  of  the  superior 
court  in  each  county  places  these  names  in  the  jury  box  from 
which,  before  the  jury  term  of  the  superior  court,  the  court  of 
common  pleas,  the  criminal  court  of  common  pleas  or  the  dis- 
trict court  of  Waterbury,  eighteen  or  more  names  are  drawn. 
These  men  are  then  summoned  to  attend  and  serve  at  the  court. 
If  they  fail  to  do  so,  they  are  subject  to  fine.  Twelve  of  these 
jurors  are  selected  for  each  case  which  is  then  tried  before  them. 
They  decide  questions  of  fact,  whether  or  not  the  person  on 
trial  is  guilty  and,  according  to  the  instructions  of  the  judge,  of 
what  offense. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  29 

They  are  men,  not  less  than  two  or  more  than 
six,  whose  duty  it  is  to  investigate  rumors  of  crimes  and 
determine  whether  or  not  there  seeems  to  be  justification 
for  bringing  a  man  up  for  trial.  The  Grand  Jurors  do 
not  themselves  actually  try  men  for  crimes.  Rather  they 
investigate  and  try  cases  to  see  if  the  man  himself 
should  be  brought  to  trial.  They  may,  for  this  pur- 
pose, summon  witnesses  and  gather  evidence  in  the 
usual  way.  If  they  should  decide  that  a  crime  or 
misdemeanor  or  violation  has  been  committed,  they 
will  then  take  the  case  and  the  offender  before  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace  who  conducts  the  trial,  the  Grand  Jurors 
acting  as  prosecutor.  Where  there  is  a  town,  borough, 
or  police  court  in  a  town,  the  prosecuting  attorney  takes 
the  place  of  the  Grand  Jurors,  but  the  Grand  Jurors 
are  still  elected  though  they  have  no  duties  and  are 
not  even  sworn  in.  In  the  City  of  Hartford  all  power 
was  taken  from  the  Grand  Jurors  in  1875,  but  the 
town  has  gone  on  electing  its  six  Grand  Jurors  ever 
since  that  year. 

The  School  Committee  or  School  Visitors 
or  Board  of  Education  are  men  and  women  elected  to 
have  control  of  the  schools.  The  Connecticut  school 
system  is  a  complicated  one,  and  varies  in  different 
towns  and  cities.  A  special  chapter  will,  therefore, 
have  to  be  given  to  it. 

The  principle  of  minority  representation  is 
observed  in  the  nomination  and  election  of  selectmen, 
auditors,  constables,  board  of  relief,  grand  jurors, 
registrars  of  voters  and  school  boards  or  committees. 

The  judicial  branch  of  town  government  is 
small.  The  Justices  of  the  Peace  are  town  officials, 
but  they  are  elected  at  the  state,  not  the  town  elections, 


30  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

for  a  term  of  two  years.  They  issue  warrants  and 
writs  and  hear  minor  criminal  and  civil  cases.  Appeal 
from  their  decision  may  be  taken  to  a  higher  court.  In 
the  towns  that  have  larger  cities,  Justices  have  very  little 
to  do,  most  of  their  power  having  passed  into  other 
hands. 

A  few  of  the  Connecticut  towns  have  a 
Town  Court,  the  judges  of  which  are  appointed  by 
the  General  Assembly  for  a  term  of  two  years.  The 
town  court  may  displace  the  justice's  court,  and  it  in 
turn  may  be  displaced  by  a  city,  borough,  or  police 
court. 


31 


III. 

COUNTY  GOVERNMENT 

*  I  ^HE  County  is  the  next  larger  unit  above  the  town 
through  which  the  state  functions.  These  divi- 
sions, let  us  remember,  grew  up  because  the  people 
within  them  found  that  they  had  certain  needs  and  con- 
ditions which  were  not  perhaps  identical  with  those  in 
other  parts  of  the  state  and  which  it  would  be  an 
advantage  for  them  to  handle  as  a  distinct  unit.  But 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  when  we  have  two  units  of  govern- 
ment extending  over  the  same  territory,  as  a  county  and 
the  towns  included  in  that  county,  some  sort  of  balance 
or  division  of  authority  must  be  decided  upon.  It  is 
interesting  to  notice  that  this  is  a  problem  which  different 
states  have  solved  differently.  In  the  New  England 
states  the  town  has  retained  by  far  the  larger  part  of 
the  authority  and  importance;  in  the  states  just  south 
and  west  of  New  England,  town  and  county  seem  to 
have  reached  a  much  more  even  apportionment;  while 
in  the  southern  states,  the  town  has  vanished  completely 
and  the  counties  have  no  subdivisions  through  which  the 
state  acts.  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing,  however, 
that  there  is  in  fact  no  need  for  a  strong  local  govern- 
ment in  both  town  and  county,  and  the  preference  for 
one  or  the  other  is  largely  a  matter  of  inherited  pre- 
judice. 

Besides  being  less  important  than  the  towns, 
the  counties  of  Connecticut  are  also  less  democratic. 
TTie  county  officials  are  all  except  one  appointed,  the 


32  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

important  ones  by  the  State  Legislature  or  by  the 
Judges  of  the  Superior  Court,  the  minor  ones  by  these 
more  important  county  officials  themselves.  The  one 
officer  who  is  elected  is  voted  for  at  the  state  elections 
but  only  by  the  people  in  the  county  where  he  is  run- 
ning. TTie  laws  that  govern  the  county  are  made  by 
the  State  Legislature.  The  taxes  of  each  county  are 
determined  by  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly 
who  come  from  that  county.  Thus  it  is  a  very  indirect 
part  that  the  people  of  the  county  have  in  county  gov- 
ernment, and  we  may  think  of  this  unit  as  one  which 
has  not  governmentally  escaped  from  the  domination 
of  the  state.  Officials  who  are  not  chosen  by  the  people 
are  not  responsible  to  them,  and  the  county  officials  may 
therefore  feel  themselves  very  independent  of  the 
people's  wishes,  a  condition  which  should  not  arise  in 
a  democratic  government. 

We  have  said  that  the  county  laws  are  passed 
by  the  State  Legislature.  This  is  because  the  counties 
themselves  neither  hold  county  meetings  for  the  purpose 
of  passing  their  own  laws  and  electing  their  own  offi- 
cials, nor  do  they  send  representatives  to  any  county 
body  to  pass  their  laws  for  them.  In  other  words,  the 
county  has  only  two  of  the  branches  of  government 
which  we  have  found  in  the  towns.  The  Counties  of 
Connecticut  have  no  Legislative  Department. 

But  though  the  county  may  be  a  compara- 
tively unimportant  unit  of  government,  and  though  it 
passes  no  laws  for  itself,  it  still  has  to  have  executive 
officers  who  will  put  into  effect  those  laws  which  the 
state  hands  down  to  it.  The  chief  executive  officials 
of  the  county  are  the  County  Commissioners  three  of 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  33 

whom  are  appointed  for  each  county  by  the  State 
Legislature  for  a  term  of  four  years.  They  have  not 
very  wide  or  important  duties,  other  than  to  have 
charge  of  all  county  property,  the  jail,  the  county  home 
for  children,  the  county  building,  etc.;  to  see  that  the 
towns  maintain  good  roads;  to  appoint  certain  officials; 
and  to  issue  liquor  licenses.  This  control  of  the  liquor 
privileges  gives  them  a  great  deal  of  influence  and 
power,  and  opens  a  very  wide  door  for  corruption. 
The  Commissioners  must  make  an  annual  report  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  State  as  to  the  condition  of  the  jail 
and  prisoners  and  must  file  accounts  of  all  receipts  and 
expenses. 

TTie  County  Treasurer  is  appointed  by  the 
County  Commissioners  for  a  term  of  two  years.  He  too 
must  give  bond  and  must  keep  accounts  of  county 
taxes,  fines  and  forfeitures,  receipts  and  expenses,  furnish- 
ing an  annual  statement  of  all  money  handled  by  him. 
It  is  through  him  that  the  taxes  which  the  people  pay 
in  the  towns  are  carried  up  to  the  county  and  appor- 
tioned for  the  various  county  expenses. 

All  the  bills  which  the  treasurer  handles  and 
pays  must  be  audited.  For  this  work,  the  members  of 
the  two  houses  of  the  State  Legislature  who  reside  in 
or  represent  the  various  districts  of  a  given  county 
appoint  two  men  from  their  own  number,  one  from  the 
Republican  and  one  from  the  Democratic  party.  These 
County  Auditors  verify  the  accounts  of  the  Commis- 
sioners, the  Jailer  and  the  County  Treasurer,  before 
the  bills  can  be  paid. 

The  one  elected  officer  in  the  county  is  the 
Sheriff  who  is  chosen  at  alternate  state  elections  for  a 


34  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

term  of  four  years  by  the  voters  of  his  own  county.  He 
is  elected  in  November,  and  takes  office  the  following 
June.  But  though  elected  by  the  people,  he  is  by  no 
means  free  to  act  independently  of  the  appointive 
officers.  He  may  appoint  the  County  Jailer,  but  must 
secure  the  approval  of  the  Commissioners.  He  may 
also  appoint  his  own  deputies  and  must  receive  and 
execute  writs  and  summons.  His  chief  duty,  however, 
is  to  act  as  peace  officer,  and  see  that  order  is  generally 
maintained.  To  this  end  he  may  make  arrests  without 
warrant,  summon  the  militia  and,  when  he  with  his 
deputies  and  this  military  body  are  still  not  able  to 
restore  order,  he  may  ask  aid  of  the  state.  He  has 
charge  of  the  county  jail  and  the  prisoners  who  are 
there ;  he  must  attend  upon  the  courts  when  they  are  in 
session  and  at  this  time  has  charge  of  the  jurors,  the 
witnesses  and  the  prisoner.  He  must  also  carry  out  the 
orders  of  the  court.  In  Hartford  County  the  Sheriff 
has  special  duties  of  attendance  upon  the  State  Legis- 
lature when  the  General  Assembly  is  in  session.  The 
Sheriffs  in  Connecticut  must  give  bond,  are  paid  a 
salary  and  receive  fees  upon  certain  occasions.  This 
practice  of  paying  our  officials  by  fees  is  again  a  source 
of  corruption  and  has  perhaps  tended  to  make  the  office 
of  sheriff  more  desirable.  In  progressive  governments 
there  is  a  strong  tendency  away  from  this  fee  system. 

Each  county  has  a  Coronor,  appointed  by 
the  Judges  of  the  Superior  Court,  at  the  recommendation 
of  the  State's  Attorney,  for  a  term  of  three  years.  He 
must  be  a  lawyer  and  must  give  bond.  It  is  his  duty 
to  appoint  a  Medical  Examiner  in  each  town.  The 
Medical  Examiner  must  investigate  all  cases  of  sudden 
or  suspicious  deaths.     If  he  determines  that  there  are 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  35 

no  evidences  of  a  crime,  he  allows  the  b)ody  to  be  taken 
for  burial.  If  he  suspects  a  crime  he  reports  to  the 
Coronor  who  must  then  himself  make  an  investigation. 
To  assist  him  in  this  he  may  summon  a  jury  of  six 
electors.  TTiey  may  bring  to  trial  anyone  whom  they 
believe  has  had  a  part  in  the  crime. 

The  Judges  of  the  Superior  Court  also  ap- 
point a  County  Health  Officer  for  each  county,  an 
attorney  at  law  with  the  power  of  a  grand  juror,  who 
in  turn  appoints  a  physician  in  each  town  to  act  as  Town 
Health  Officer.  These  local  health  officers  are  ap- 
pointed for  four  years  and  have  in  their  charge  those 
matters  which  concern  the  general  health  of  the  com- 
munity. This  does  not  mean  that  people  receive  from 
him  free  treatment.  But  if  he  discovers  any  practice 
which  might  be  injurious  to  the  public  health,  it  is  his 
duty  to  report  the  offense  to  the  County  Health  Officer 
who  can  then  institute  legal  proceedings  against  the 
offender.  Such  things  as  careless  or  unsanitary 
handling  of  garbage,  unclean  practices  about  the  water 
supply,  etc.  would  come  under  his  jurisdiction. 

The  Judicial  Department  of  the  county  is 
also  very  much  under  the  domination  of  the  state.  The 
Superior  Court,  which  is  a  state's  court,  sits  in  each 
county  according  to  a  calendar  arranged  by  statute, 
and  the  judges  of  this  court  appoint  a  State's  Attorney 
for  each  county.  This  officer  gives  bond  and  is  ap- 
pointed for  two  years.  He  practices  in  the  state  courts 
and  must  make  an  annual  report  of  all  the  money  he 
has  handled  through  his  office.  A  Clerk  of  the  Court, 
an  Assistant  Clerk  and  a  Court  Stenographer  are  also 
appointed  by  these  same  judges. 


36  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

A  Court  of  Common  Pleas  sits  in  all  the 
counties  except  Tolland,  Windham  and  Middlesex. 
Cases  may  be  carried  up  to  this  court  by  appeal  from 
the  lower  city  and  borough  courts.  In  the  three  counties 
that  have  no  such  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  appeal  must 
be  made  to  the  Superior  Court.  The  judges  of  this 
court  are  appointed  by  the  State  Legislature. 

The  counties  of  the  state  are  divided  into 
Probate  Districts  in  each  one  of  which  there  is  a  Pro- 
bate Court  and  a  Probate  Judge.  These  districts  do 
not  all  coincide  exactly  with  the  outlines  of  the  tov/ns, 
but  in  general  they  do  so.  The  Probate  Court  handles 
the  property  of  deceased  persons,  minors,  insane  and 
incompetent  persons  and  sends  dependent  children  to 
the  various  county  homes  and  commits  insane  persons 
to  asylums.  The  judge  is  elected  biennially  for  a  term 
of  two  years,  being  one  of  the  very  few  members  of 
the  judiciary  in  Connecticut  who  is  elected  by  popular 
vote.  A  well  established  tradition  of  government  is  to 
hold  the  judiciary  aloof  from  party  politics  and  popular 
control,  but  there  is  in  our  day  a  growing  tendency 
toward  a  popular  control  through  election  of  judges  as 
well  as  of  other  officials. 

The  County  Commissioners  of  each  county 
also  appoint  Prosecuting  Agents,  from  one  to  nine,  who 
are  paid  by  fees  instead  of  a  salary  and  may  be  removed 
by  the  Commissioners  for  failure  in  their  duty.  They 
are  appointed  for  two  years.  Their  duty  is  especially 
to  prevent  the  illegal  sale  of  spiritous  liquors.  They 
must  prosecute  such  offenders  and  must  make  a  monthly 
report  to  their  Commissioners.  It  is  well  to  notice  that 
one  reason  such  great  care  is  taken  to  prevent  this  illegal 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  37 

or  unlicensed  sale  of  liquor,  is  that  our  tax  on  liquor 
which  we  collect  through  this  license  system  is  one  of 
the  very  large  revenues  of  our  government.  Without 
this  source  of  revenue  our  taxes  might  be  considerably 
increased,  but  there  is  still  a  good  deal  of  jDopular  doubt 
as  to  the  moral  right  of  supporting  our  government 
through  licensing  an  article  that  causes  as  much  human 
woe  as  do  intoxicating  liquors. 


^ 


IV. 

BOROUGH  GOVERNMENT 

A  S  more  and  more  people  gather  in  a  community, 
-^  ^  they  may  feel  that  some  of  their  affairs  could 
be  better  handled  jointly  than  by  them  as  individuals, 
so  they  may  decide  to  be  incorporated  as  a  borough. 
They  submit  a  petition  to  the  General  Assembly,  or 
Legislature  at  Hartford  which  grants  them  the  right  to 
incorporate.  This  incorporated  borough  then  has  the 
right  to  assess  borough  taxes  and  to  spend  money  for 
any  improvements  which  are  decided  upon.  Usually 
the  borough  government  takes  a  representative  form, 
that  is  certain  men  are  elected  to  represent  and  legislate 
for  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough.  In  a  few  cases  the 
borough  retains  the  more  democratic  form  like  that  of 
the  town,  and  the  people  themselves,  at  borough  meet- 
ings, pass  their  laws  and  manage  their  affairs.  There 
are  twenty-three  boroughs  in  Connecticut.  As  boroughs 
grow  into  larger  units,  they  usually  secure  from  the 
Legislature  a  new  charter  and  become  a  city. 

Some  boroughs  have  three  departments  of 
government,  but  usually  the  judicial  department  is 
handled  by  that  branch  of  the  county  government. 

In  most  of  the  boroughs  of  Connecticut  the 
following  officers  are  elected  annually  for  a  term  of 
one  year: 

Warden. 

Burgesses,  usually  six,  sometimes  less. 

Bailiff. 

Clerk. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  39 

Treasurer. 
Assessors. 
Collector. 
Auditors. 

The  warden  and  the  burgesses  make  up  the 
legislative  department  of  the  borough,  and  pass  such 
ordinances  as  are  required.  The  warden,  who  is  the 
chief  executive  officer,  thus  has  a  share  in  the  two 
departments.  As  a  legislator  he  sits  with  the  burgesses 
and  has  a  vote  on  all  questions;  as  an  executive  he  is 
responsible  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  borough 
government. 

The  bailiff's  position  and  duties  correspond 
to  those  of  the  sheriff  and  constables.  He  may  make 
arrests  without  warrants  and  must  see  that  order  is  pre- 
served. The  other  borough  officers,  clerk,  treasurer, 
assessors,  collector  and  auditors  correspond  in  general 
with  those  same  officers  in  the  other  units  of  government. 

The  Borough  of  Naugatuck  has  consolidated 
with  the  Town  of  Naugatuck  and  retains  some  of  the 
officers  from  each  unit.  It  has  bailiffs  and  not  con- 
stables; it  has  a  warden  and  burgesses  and  also  select- 
men and  other  officers  who  act  in  the  double  capacity 
for  borough  and  town. 

The  borough  form  of  government  is  becoming 
less  popular  in  Connecticut  and  very  few  boroughs 
have  been  incorporated  in  recent  years.  Boards  of 
Finance,  established  in  many  of  the  towns,  are  proving 
adequate  for  the  handling  of  such  matters  as  formerly 
came  under  borough  dispensation. 


40 


CITY  GOVERNMENT 

INHERE  are  nineteen  cities  in  Connecticut,  in  which 
live  more  than  one-half  of  the  people  of  the  state. 
The  body  of  laws  and  principles  upon  which  a  city 
government  is  supported  is  larger  and  more  elaborate 
than  that  of  the  borough  because,  as  more  and  more 
people  gather  together  in  a  group,  they  find  it  wise  to 
handle  more  and  more  of  their  affairs  in  common.  Also 
there  is  more  need  of  restraints  upon  acts  which  perhaps 
in  themselves,  in  less  closely  united  groups,  might  not 
be  harmful.  We  must  remember  that  the  aim  of  all 
government  is  the  greater  good  of  the  greater  number, 
and  where  our  personal  desires  conflict  with  this,  it  is 
our  duty  to  restrain  ourselves,  and  the  government's 
duty  to  see  that  we  are  so  restrained.  The  health  of 
the  people  of  a  borough  will  not  need  to  be  so  guarded 
by  laws  as  will  the  health  of  the  people  of  a  city,  be- 
cause in  a  borough  there  is  apt  to  be  more  space,  air 
and  light  and  less  danger  of  contagion  and  unhealthy 
conditions.  So  the  streets  of  a  small  borough  require 
less  care  than  the  streets  of  a  great  city.  There  is  need 
of  a  more  elaborate  system  of  sewers,  a  larger  police 
force,  larger  schools,  more  parks,  better  provision  for 
the  unfortunate  in  a  city  than  in  a  borough.  All  these 
things  come  under  the  provision  of  the  city  charter  or 
city  ordinances. 

The  charter  of  a  city  contains  those  general 
laws  by  which  the  people  have  decided  to  govern  them- 
selves.    The  other  laws  which  are  passed  by  the  legis- 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  41 

lative  department  of  the  city  are  called  ordinances. 
These  ordinances  must  not  conflict  with  anything  con- 
tained in  the  charter  or  the  laws  of  the  state.  The  city 
obtains  its  charter  from  the  General  Assembly.  When 
a  group  of  people  wish  to  become  incorporated  as  a 
city,  a  charter  commission,  composed  of  a  number  of 
men.  writes  out  a  charter  which  is  then  submitted  to  the 
General  Assembly.  It  is  within  the  power  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  to  grant  or  to  withhold  from  the  people 
the  right  to  vote  on  this  charter.  It  may  also  determine 
what  vote,  whether  large  or  small,  will  be  necessary  for 
the  adoption  of  the  document,  and  may  order  certain 
sections  of  it  struck  out  or  other  laws  written  in.  With 
their  consent,  the  charter  then  goes  back  to  the  people 
to  be  voted  upon  and  may  usually  be  passed  by  a  simple 
majority  vote,  though  sometimes  other  much  more  diffi- 
cult conditions  have  been  imposed  with  the  probable 
intention  of  preventing  its  adoption. 

There  may  be  a  wide  difference  of  opinion 
among  the  people  themselves  as  to  the  wisdom  of  be- 
coming a  city.  Those  outside  the  limits  of  the  borough 
or  group  may  object  to  the  larger  tax  which  city  gov- 
ernment would  impose  while  those  nearer  the  center 
of  the  group  may  feel  that  any  improvements  which  are 
put  in  will  be  for  the  general  good  and  will  increase 
the  value  of  all  near-by  property,  thus  basing  their 
appeal  upon  both  civic  pride  and  self-interest.  It  is 
only  right,  therefore,  that  the  final  decision  should  be 
left  with  the  majority  of  the  people. 

Cities  very  often  keep  a  charter  for  a  great 
many  years.  In  this  case,  from  time  to  time,  occasions 
will  arise  where  the  provisions  of  the  old  charter  will 
be  seen  to  conflict  with  the  more  modern  needs  and 


42  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

opinions.  The  people  will,  therefore,  wish  to  change 
their  charter,  and  they  may  do  so  with  the  permission 
of  the  State  Legislature.  The  consent  of  this  body  is, 
however,  not  always  easy  to  get,  and  an  actual  hardship 
has  often  been  put  upon  the  people  of  a  city  when  the 
large  number  of  representatives  from  other  districts  who 
perhaps  had  little  sympathy  with  the  new  needs  have 
refused  to  countenance  the  desired  alteration. 

There  is  a  very  wide  difference  in  the  charters 
of  the  cities  of  Connecticut,  but  certain  general  laws  are 
followed  by  all  of  them. 

The  cities  of  Connecticut  all  have  the  three 
departments  of  government,  the  legislative,  the  execu- 
tive, and  the  judicial.  They  each  have  a  mayor.  But 
here  the  differences  begin.  Some  cities  have  two 
boards  which  make  up  their  legislative  department, 
some  have  only  one.  Some  city  elections  are  held 
annually,  some  are  held  biennially;  some  in  the  spring, 
some  in  the  fall;  some  in  the  even  years,  some  in  the 
odd.  In  passing  laws  which  relate  to  the  cities  of  the 
state,  the  Legislature  must  therefore  legislate  for  each 
one  separately.  Sometimes  in  other  states,  cities  are 
divided  into  classes  according  to  the  population,  and 
can  thus  be  legislated  for  in  groups.  This  legislation 
which  the  state  does  for  the  cities  limits  the  powers  of 
the  cities  in  various  ways.  For  instance,  cities  may  not 
involve  themselves  too  deeply  in  debt.  They  may  not 
issue  bonds  for  improvements  beyond  a  certain  amount. 
They  may  not  own  and  control  their  terminal  markets 
and  storage  plants,  without  a  special  grant  from  the 
Legislature.  In  some  states,  they  may  not  even  decide 
whether  or  not  intoxicating  drinks  may  be  sold  within 
the  city  limits.     In  fact  the  city  has  only  those  powers 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  43 

which  the  slate,  through  the  Legislature,  has  granted 
to  it.  TTie  tendency,  however,  is  toward  a  freer  and 
more  autonomous  city  government.  Some  states  have 
granted  the  cities  what  is  called  "home  rule.**  These 
cities  then  have  very  large  powers.  They  may  even 
give  the  municipal  franchise  to  their  women.  One  such 
city  in  Florida  had  a  woman  occupy  the  mayor's  chair. 

At  the  town  elections  the  men  of  the  city  who 
have  been  made  voters  elect  the  city  officials.  These 
vary  in  different  cities,  but  most  cities  have  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Mayor. 

Common  Council  made  up  of  Aldermen  or 
Councilmen,  or  both. 

Clerk. 

Assessors. 

Collector. 

Treasurer. 

Comptroller. 

Some  cities  elect  a  number  of  other  officials, 
and  they  all  have  a  number  of  appointed  boards  and 
commissions  to  assist  in  the  government. 

There  are  in  the  state  several  cities  whose 
outline  coincides  with  that  of  the  town  in  which  they 
are  situated.  These  cities  have  both  city  and  town 
officials,  and  though  their  elections  and  caucuses  are 
still  called  town  elections  and  town  caucuses,  the  town 
government  has  in  fact  given  way  very  largely  to  city 
government,  and  the  town  officials  have  in  reality  very 
few  duties  and  very  little  power.  Such  offices  as  Town 
and  City  Clerk.  Town  and  City  Registrars  of  Voters, 
Assessors,  Board  of  Relief.  Collector,  Treasurer  and 
Auditors  are  then  usually  merged  and  filled  by  one  set 


44  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

of  officials,  in  this  case  usually  being  known  as  town 
rather  than  city  officials.  This  is  but  another  evidence 
of  the  respect  in  which  the  old  unit  of  the  town  is  still 
held. 

For  the  convenience  of  voters,  the  city  is  usu- 
ally divided  into  wards  which  in  turn  may  be  further 
divided  into  precincts  or  districts,  in  each  one  of  which 
polls  or  voting  places  are  opened.  A  vote  must  be  cast 
in  the  precinct  in  which  the  voter  claims  a  residence. 
All  the  city  officials  except  the  members  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  Board  of  Councilmen,  and  in  certain 
cities  the  school  officials  may  be  voted  for  by  all  the 
people.  The  Aldermen  and  Councilmen  are  elected 
from  the  different  wards  or  districts  and  may  be  voted 
for  only  by  those  who  live  in  that  district.  But  here 
again  we  find  a  wide  difference  in  the  cities.  Some 
cities  elect  one  alderman  from  each  ward;  some  one 
from  each  ward  and  a  given  number  at  large,  elected 
by  the  vote  of  all  the  people;  some  cities  elect  two  or 
more  from  each  ward  in  different  years;  some  smaller 
cities  are  not  even  divided  into  wards  and  elect  their 
entire  Common  Council  at  large.  In  those  towns  and 
cities  where  the  old  district  school  system  still  obtains  the 
voters  in  each  such  district  elect  their  own  school 
officials. 

The  Legislative  Department  of  the  city  is 
made  up  of  one  or  two  boards,  the  Aldermen  and  the 
Councilmen,  known  as  the  Common  Council.  This 
body  meets  usually  once  or  twice  a  month  and  passes 
the  necessary  ordinances  for  the  government  of  the  city, 
always  within  the  limits  set  by  the  charter.  After  they 
have  been  passed,  these  ordinances  must  be  made  public 
through  the  press  a  certain  number  of  times  before  they 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  45 

are  enforced.  The  ordinances  cover  such  points  as  the 
use  of  streets,  parks,  public  buildings,  etc.  The  Com- 
mon Council  levies  the  city  taxes,  may  borrow  money 
under  certain  conditions  provided  by  the  state,  and 
apportions  the  city  funds  to  the  various  departments. 

Where  there  are  two  bodies,  they  may  meet 
in  joint  or  separate  session.  Some  cities  provide  only 
for  joint  sessions,  in  which  case  there  seems  to  be  little 
reason  for  discriminating  between  the  two  bodies.  In 
other  cities,  for  all  ordinary  business  the  two  boards 
meet  separately,  and  all  ordinances  originating  in  either 
body  must  be  passed  by  the  other  before  they  can  be- 
come a  law. 

After  an  ordinance  is  passed  by  the  Conunon 
Council,  it  goes  to  the  Mayor  who  may  sign  it,  veto 
it,  or  allow  it  to  become  a  law  by  taking  no  action.  In 
case  of  a  veto,  the  ordinance  may  go  back  to  the  council 
and  if  it  is  then  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  it  becomes 
a  law  without  the  Mayor's  signature. 

Tlie  members  of  the  Common  Council  are 
divided  up  into  various  standing  committees,  the  mem- 
bership of  which  is  determined  by  the  council.  When 
bills  are  introduced  they  are  referred  to  the  appropriate 
committee  which  acts  ujxjn  them  before  they  come  be- 
fore the  whole  body.  This  is  a  method  of  saving  time 
and  enables  the  council  to  accomplish  much  more 
business.  The  aldermen  are  also  asked  to  serve  on  a 
number  of  special  conmiittees.  to  some  of  which  they 
are  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  to  others  by  the  Board 
of  Aldermen. 

The  Mayor  is  the  chief  executive  of  the  city. 
He  is  elected,  in  most  cities,  for  a  term  of  two  years, 
by  the  voters  of  the  entire  city.     It  is  the  duty  of  the 


46  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

Mayor  to  see  that  the  business  of  the  city  is  properly 
administered.  His  position  is  similar  to  that  of  the  head 
of  a  large  business  concern,  and  he  should  therefore  be 
not  only  a  man  of  the  highest  integrity  but  one  who  has 
business  ability  and  experience  also.  He  presides  over 
one  of  the  city  legislative  boards,  but  has  no  vote, 
though  he  has,  as  we  have  seen,  the  power  of  the  veto. 
He  may  call  special  meetings  of  the  Common  Council, 
and  is  in  frequent  consultation  with  the  heads  or  super- 
intendents of  the  various  departments.  He  also  sends 
a  message,  usually  once  a  year,  to  the  Council,  in  which 
he  makes  certain  recommendations  and  suggestions. 
But  again,  though  it  is  customary  for  the  Council  to 
give  these  suggestions  their  consideration,  they  are  not 
obliged  to  follow  them.  Thus,  though  the  Mayor  may, 
theoretically,  have  a  share  in  the  legislative  work  of  the 
city,  it  may  prove  to  be  a  very  empty  honor. 

TTie  Mayor  of  a  city  also  has  very  large 
appointive  powers.  It  is  necessary  that  the  government 
of  the  city  be  divided  up  into  various  departments,  the 
heads  of  which  and  sometimes  other  members  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  Mayor.  TTie  Department  of  Education, 
the  Police  Department,  the  Fire  Department,  the  Park 
Department,  the  Water  Department,  the  Health  De- 
partment, the  Street  Department,  etc.,  etc.,  are  some  of 
these  divisions,  each  one  of  which  has  its  head  and  its 
number  of  minor  officials. 

This  large  appointive  power  gives  the  mayor 
great  political  influence,  and  in  the  hands  of  an  un- 
scrupulous man  might  bring  serious  harm  to  the  people. 
But  though  this  possibility  exists,  there  is  still  to  be 
noticed  a  very  strong  tendency  in  modern  government 
toward  the  election  of  fewer  officials  and  the  enlarging 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  47 

of  their  responsibilities.  One  reason  for  this  is  that 
a  very  long  ballot  has  been  found  confusing  to 
the  voter  who  cannot  possibly  inform  himself  about  so 
large  a  number  of  candidates,  a  fact  which  the  corrupt 
politician  soon  found  out  and  used  to  his  advantage. 
This  is  in  line  also  with  another  reform,  the  effort  to 
lift  city  government  entirely  above  party  politics. 
Party  platforms  and  principles  concern  themselves 
chiefly  with  national  policies  and  issues,  and  these  have 
nothing  at  all  to  do  with  city  government.  At  the 
national  and  state  elections  men  become  much  wrought 
up  over  these  party  issues,  and  city  or  town  elections 
are  usually  held  at  other  periods  of  the  year  for  the 
express  purpose  of  preventing  this  feeling  from  entering 
into  the  choice  of  city  officials. 

Cities  elect  various  other  officials,  such  as 
clerk,  assessors,  collector,  treasurer,  auditors,  etc.,  who 
share  in  the  executive  work  of  the  government. 

TTie  judicial  department  of  the  city  is  made 
up  of  a  Police  Court  and  a  City  Court.  Some  cities 
have  both,  some  call  their  court  either  one  or  the  other. 
The  Police  Court  is  in  session  daily  and  it  is  in  here 
that  ordinary  offenders  are  taken  for  trial.  The  City 
Court  sits  either  on  certain  days  or  as  cases  are  assigned 
to  it  for  trial.  The  judges  of  both  these  courts  are 
appointed  by  the  State  Legislature. 

A  new  form  of  city  government  has  been 
tried  out  in  various  states,  but  has  not  yet  been  under- 
taken in  any  of  the  Connecticut  cities.  This  is  the  Com- 
mission Form.  Instead  of  electing  a  mayor  and  alder- 
men and  councilmen,  etc.,  the  voters  elect  from  three 
to  five  commissioners,  sometimes  with  a  mayor,  to 
whom  the  entire  management  of  the  city  is  turned  over. 


48  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

Sometimes  these  Commissioners  hire  a  City  Manager, 
a  man  trained  for  the  work.  These  experiments  have 
proven  very  successful  and  few  of  the  cities  that  have 
adopted  such  a  plan  would  go  back  to  the  old  method. 
It  is  evidence  of  the  growing  sense  that  a  city  is  in  fact 
a  great  business  enterprise  and  its  affairs  need  to  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  competent,  trained,  experienced 
men. 


VI. 

STATE  GOVERNMENT 

'  I  ''HOUGH  we  may  be  perhaps  more  conscious  of 
-■'  the  smaller  units  of  government  in  their  relation 
to  our  own  lives,  the  fact  is  that  our  well  being  depends 
far  more  upon  the  state  government  than  upon  any 
other.  For  it  is  the  state  back  of  these  smaller  units 
which  gives  them  power  to  maintain  peace  and  provide 
for  the  common  defense,  to  assure  justice  and  equality 
of  treatment  to  all  of  us.  The  term.  "Sovereign 
State,**  gets  its  significance  from  the  large  power  which 
the  state  exercises  over  the  people  and  the  political  in- 
stitutions within  its  bounds.  It  is  the  state  which  deter- 
mines how  many  and  what  officers  shall  be  elected;  it 
also  decides  who  shall  vote  to  elect  those  officers,  and 
when  the  vote  shall  be  taken.  It  has  the  right  upon 
certain  conditions  to  remove  certain  officers.  And  the 
power  of  the  state  goes  even  farther.  It  passes  the  laws 
which  guard  our  personal  and  property  rights,  which 
regulate  inheritance  and  control  corporations.  It  has 
authority  over  state  banks;  it  regulates  the  sale  of  liquor; 
supervises  the  general  health,  education,  the  care  of 
dependents  and  delinquents,  finally  exercising  a  very 
large  power  over  all  of  us  also  in  the  matter  of  taxation. 
Each  state  has,  let  us  remind  ourselves,  a 
body  of  laws  and  principles  upon  which  it  rests  and 
from  which  it  derives  its  power.  TTiis  is  called  a  con- 
stitution. A  state  constitution  is  written  by  a  body  of 
men  elected  for  the  purpose,  called  a  Constitutional 
Convention,  and  is  referred  back  to  the  people  who  vote 


50  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

to  accept  or  reject  it.  Connecticut  has  not  had  a  new 
constitution  since  1818.  There  is  a  growing  feeling  that 
states  should  adopt  new  constitutions  more  frequently,  as 
in  our  swiftly  moving  world,  legislation  which  was 
adequate  when  it  was  laid  down,  may  within  a  decade 
become  obsolete  and  act  as  a  deterrent  upon  some  good 
and  needed  movement.  It  is  possible  to  amend  a 
state  constitution.  The  method  by  which  this  is  done 
in  Connecticut  is  to  have  a  bill  calling  for  such  a  change 
passed  by  both  houses  of  two  successive  legislatures  and 
then  referred  back  to  the  people  who  must  ratify  the 
proposed  amendment  by  a  majority  vote.  In  some  states 
the  large  majority  vote  which  is  required,  together  with 
the  provision  that  only  at  very  long  intervals  may  the 
constitution  be  changed  makes  any  constitutional  amend- 
ment practically  possible. 

The  State  Government  takes  the  form  of  a 
Republic  rather  than  of  a  Pure  Democracy,  and  has 
the  usual  three  departments.  Legislative,  Elxecutive  and 
Judicial. 

The  Legislative  Department  of  the  state  is 
called  the  State  Legislature  or  General  Assembly.  It 
is  made  up  of  two  houses,  the  Senate  and  the  House 
of  Representatives.  These  two  bodies  meet  for  regular 
session  in  their  respective  chambers  at  the  state  capitol, 
every  other  year,  in  odd-numbered  years,  on  Wednes- 
day after  the  first  Monday  in  January.  They  remain 
in  session  until  all  business  which  comes  before  them  is 
completed,  usually  adjourning  in  the  late  spring. 
Under  the  constitution  they  must  adjourn  not  later  than 
June.  A  special  session  may  be  called  by  the  Governor 
at  any  time  and  place  he  sees  fit. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  51 

The  State  Legislature  passes  the  general 
laws  by  which  the  people  of  the  state  are  governed. 
There  are.  however,  various  limitations  upon  this  body. 
In  the  first  place  the  United  States  Constitution  sets 
certain  limits  upon  the  power  of  the  states.  For  in- 
stance, no  state  may  make  a  treaty  with  a  foreign 
power,  or  coin  money,  or  levy  import  or  export  duties. 
These  things  are  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  national 
government.  The  State  Legislature  is  also  limited  in 
its  power  by  the  State  Constitution.  TTie  individual 
also  has  certain  rights  of  person  and  property  with 
which  the  state  may  not  interfere.  TTius  even  the 
"Sovereign  State**  is  not  by  any  means  absolute  in  its 
power,  as  of  course  it  should  not  be  in  a  democratic 
government. 

The  method  of  procedure  in  passing  a  bill 
through  the  legislature  is  as  follows:  A  bill  is  intro- 
duced into  either  one  or  both  of  the  houses,  when  it  has 
its  first  reading.  It  is  then  referred  to  a  committee. 
The  various  committees  are  made  up  of  members  of 
the  Legislature  who  examine  and  pass  upon  the  bills 
which  are  referred  to  them,  deciding  whether  a  given 
bill  shall  be  favorably  or  unfavorably  referred  to  the 
whole  body. 

When  the  bill  is  reported  out  of  the  conmiit- 
tee.  it  is  given  a  place  on  the  calendar  and  comes  up  for 
its  second  reading.  It  may  at  this  time  be  amended 
and  sent  back  to  the  committee  for  reconsideration.  It 
must  be  printed  and  laid  on  the  desk  of  each  member 
before  it  comes  up  for  a  third  reading,  after  which  the 
vote  is  taken.  If  it  passes,  that  is,  receives  a  majority 
vote,  it  is  referred  to  the  other  house  where  it  must  go 


52  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

through  the  same  process.  After  its  passage  by  both 
houses  it  goes  to  the  governor  for  his  signature.  If  the 
governor  vetoes  it  the  Legislature  may  pass  it  over 
his  head  by  a  bare  majority  vote.  Bills  sometimes 
become  laws  by  the  governor's  failure  to  sign  them 
within  a  given  time. 

The  Connecticut  State  Senate  is  made  up  of 
thirty-five  members,  elected  at  the  state  elections  for  a 
term  of  two  years.  The  entire  territory  of  the  state  is 
divided  into  thirty-five  districts,  from  each  one  of  which 
one  senator  is  sent.  Only  the  people  living  in  a  given 
senatorial  district  vote  for  the  candidate  in  that  division. 
This  division  into  districts  is  made  by  the  state  legisla- 
ture, presumably  upon  a  basis  of  population,  so  that 
each  senator  may  represent  approximately  the  same 
number  of  people.  But  party  politics  has  played  a  very 
large  part  in  determining  the  outline  of  the  districts.  By 
a  process  known  as  "gerrymandering,*'  the  party  in 
control  may  lay  out  the  districts  so  as  to  make  each  one 
embrace  enough  favorable  territory  to  swing  elections. 
A  glance  at  the  map  of  the  senatorial  districts  of  Con- 
necticut leaves  one  wondering  in  what  other  way  such 
a  district  as  the  fourteenth  or  some  of  those  in  the  cities 
could  have  secured  their  remarkable  shape. 

The  Connecticut  House  of  Representatives 
has  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  members,  elected  for 
two  years.  Instead  of,  as  is  done  in  most  of  the  other 
states,  dividing  the  state  up  into  districts  according  to 
population  and  sending  a  representative  from  each, 
Connecticut  allows  her  towns  to  be  the  basis  of  her 
representation  in  the  lower  house  of  her  state  legislature. 
The  general  rule  is  that  towns  have  two  representatives, 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  53 

without  regard  to  the  number  of  people  in  the  towns. 
This  is  the  old  law.  In  1874  this  was  revised  so  that 
as  other  towns  were  incorporated,  they  should  have  but 
one  representative,  until  their  population  reached 
5.000;  after  this  they  should  have  two.  The  repre- 
sentation from  the  old  towns  was  not  changed. 
This  system  of  representation  is  but  another  evidence 
of  the  importance  in  which  Connecticut  holds  her  towns. 
But  it  can  hardly  be  called  a  just  basis.  Such  towns  as 
Hartford  and  New  Haven,  with  their  large  cities,  have 
no  more  representation  in  the  lower  house  than  has  the 
town  of  Union  which  by  the  1910  census  showed  a 
population  of  barely  350.  It  gives  the  rural  districts 
a  very  great  power  over  the  cities,  and  since  rural  com- 
munities are  apt  to  be  of  the  two  far  more  conservative 
and  less  tolerant  of  changes  and  innovations,  the  cities 
very  often  have  great  difficulty  in  securing  the  passage 
of  reform  bills  which  would  undoubtedly  be  of  great 
service.  Also  this  system  acts  as  a  check  against  any 
reform  of  the  system  itself.  The  small,  thinly  settled 
towns  would  undoubtedly  resist  having  their  number  of 
representatives  reduced.  They  would  be  just  as  un- 
willing to  see  this  done  in  a  negative  way  by  having  the 
number  sent  from  the  more  populous  districts  increased. 
There  would  seem  to  be  no  way  out  of  the  difficulty 
except  by  a  change  in  the  constitution  or  the  adoption 
of  a  new  one,  and  as  this  again  would  have  to  be 
referred  to  these  same  rural  voters,  it  is  highly  probable 
that  they  would  accept  no  constitution  that  contained 
a  clause  reducing  their  representation. 

It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  in  Connecti- 
cut one  branch  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Senate, 
is  elected  on  a  population  basis.     This  gives  the  city  a 


54  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

preponderance  of  power,  the  City  of  New  Haven,  for 
instance,  having  four  senators  while  the  whole  County 
of  Tolland  has  only  one,  but  still  nothing  Hke  so  just 
a  portion  as  if  both  houses  were  based  upon  population. 

The  Lieutenant  Governor  is  ex-officio  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate,  presiding  without  a  vote  except  in 
case  of  a  tie;  the  House  of  Representatives  elects  from 
among  their  own  number  a  presiding  officer,  called  the 
Speaker,  who  has  the  right  to  vote  in  all  cases  of  ballot- 
ing. Although  the  members  of  both  houses  are  elected 
for  a  term  of  two  years,  the  legislature  meets  in  regular 
session  only  every  other  year  for  a  term  of  a  few  months. 
It  must  adjourn  not  later  than  June.  This  provision  is 
said  to  have  grown  out  of  the  necessity  the  members 
felt  to  get  back  home  in  time  to  attend  to  their  farm 
work.  It  may  also  have  been  partly  due  to  their  desire 
to  save  themselves  from  too  lengthy  debates. 

In  this  greatest  political  unit,  the  state,  which 
passes  most  of  the  laws  which  govern  our  lives,  it  will 
of  course  be  necessary  to  have  a  number  of  competent 
executives.  For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  her  laws, 
Connecticut  elects  the  following  officers,  all  except  the 
Attorney  General  for  a  term  of  two  years. 

Governor. 

Lieutenant-Governor. 

Secretary  of  State. 

Treasurer. 

Comptroller. 

Attorney  General,  elected  for  a  term  of 
four  years. 

Besides  these  officials,  Connecticut  has  also 
a  number  of  other  appointive  executive  officers  as  well 
as  a  great  many  Boards  and  Commissioners. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  55 

The  Governor  is  the  chief  executive  officer 
of  the  state.  He  is  elected  at  the  fall  state  elections 
for  a  term  of  two  years  and  takes  office  on  Wednesday 
after  the  first  Monday  in  January.  He  has  very  large 
powers.  In  general  his  duty  is  to  see  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  state  is  properly  conducted.  But  through 
his  messages  to  the  Legislature,  in  which  he  recom- 
mends certain  measures,  he  may  also  have  a  share 
in  the  legislative  work  of  the  state  government. 
He  is  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  State  Militia; 
he  may  call  the  Legislature  in  Special  Session,  he  may 
also  adjourn  the  Legislature  in  case  of  a  disagreement 
between  the  Houses  which  is  blocking  legislation;  he 
may  veto  bills;  he  may  grant  reprieves;  he  signs  com- 
missions; he  nominates  various  judges;  he  appoints 
several  of  the  State  Commissioners.  He  is  in  all  the 
person  who  may  be  finally  held  responsible  for  the  good 
or  bad  administration  of  the  state  laws. 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  fills  the  Governor's 
chair  in  case  of  the  Governor*s  absence  or  death.  He 
also  presides  over  the  Senate  and.  as  is  also  the  Gov- 
ernor, is  an  ex-officio  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Education. 

The  Secretary  of  Slate  has  charge  of  the 
state  public  records,  publishes  the  State  Register  and 
Manual,  receives  the  reports  as  to  the  amount  which 
candidates  have  spent  on  their  elections,  and  administers 
the  oath  of  office  to  Legislators. 

The  State  Treasurer  has  charge  of  the  State*s 
moneys.  He  must  prepare  biennially  an  estimate  of 
how  much  the  state  will  need  to  carry  on  its  work  for 
the  ensuing  two  years.    He  must  make  an  annual  report 


56  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

to  the  Governor  who  lays  this  report  before  the  Legis- 
lature at  its  next  session.  The  State  Treasurer  receives 
from  the  town  treasurers  the  proportion  of  the  taxes 
which  are  to  be  used  in  conducting  the  government  of 
the  state.  He  also  has  the  management  of  the  School 
Fund  and  of  the  Agricultural  College  Fund.  He  is 
ex-officio  a  member  of  various  Boards. 

The  Comptroller  must  sign  all  warrants  for 
payment  of  state  funds.  He  keeps  the  state's  accounts 
and  is  also  a  member  of  certain  Boards. 

The  office  of  Attorney  General  was  created 
in  1 897.  He  represents  the  state  in  all  its  legal  matters, 
gives  legal  advice  to  either  branch  of  the  Legislature, 
and  appears,  in  suits  and  civil  proceedings,  for  the  sev- 
eral elective  state  officers,  state  boards  and  commis- 
sioners, etc.  He  is  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years, 
and  makes  a  biennial  report  to  the  Governor. 

The  Boards  and  Commissions  of  the  execu- 
tive department  are  a  very  important  adjunct.  Con- 
necticut has  at  present  more  than  sixty  of  these  boards, 
some  of  them  appointed  by  the  Governor,  some  nomi- 
nated by  the  Governor  and  this  nomination  confirmed 
by  the  Legislature,  some  appointed  by  the  Legislature, 
some  appointed  by  the  judges  of  Superior  Court,  some 
made  up  of  the  Legislators  themselves  who  are  ex-officio 
members.  Some  of  the  important  ones  are :  The  Com- 
pensation Commission,  State  Board  of  Health,  State 
Board  of  Education,  Bank  Commissioner,  Tax  Com- 
missioner, Insurance  Commissioner,  Public  Utilities 
Commission,  Highway  Commissioner,  State  Board  of 
Agriculture,  Board  of  Pardons,  State  Board  of  Char- 
ities, State  Police,  Civil  Service  Commission  and  many 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  57 

others,  down  even  to  a  Board  of  Examiners  of  Barbers 
and  Elxaminers  for  Elmbalmers.  The  mere  Hst  of  these 
will  give  us  perhaps,  a  better  idea  of  the  immense 
amount  of  business  which  our  State  Government  has 
to  conduct.  But  in  spite  of  this  fact,  there  is  a  growing 
feeling  that  the  political  state,  in  the  new  order  which 
we  shall  see  established  after  the  war.  may  give  place 
to  some  other  entity,  or  at  least  be  called  upon  to  share 
much  of  its  power  with  something  resembling  an  indus- 
trial state. 

No  department  of  the  state  has  a  greater  hold 
upon  the  smaller  units  than  the  judicial  department. 
That  old  conviction  that  the  judiciary  must  be  kept 
apart  from  the  people  is  probably  the  basis  of  the  state 
control  of  the  courts,  by  which  the  authority  becomes 
farther  removed  from  the  people  and  popular  control. 
The  Court  of  Common  Pleas  which  we  have  given  a 
place  under  the  judicial  department  of  the  county,  is 
in  fact  a  state  court.  So  is  the  Superior  Court  which 
holds  session  in  each  county.  The  Governor  appoints 
the  judges  in  both  these  courts,  eleven  for  the  Superior 
Court  for  a  term  of  eight  years.  As  we  have  seen,  this 
Court  appoints  a  State's  Attorney  for  each  county,  and 
many  of  the  other  county  officials.  The  Superior  Court 
Judges  are,  by  virtue  of  their  office,  members  of  certain 
boards. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  Errors  is  the  highest 
state  court,  with  a  Chief  Justice  and  four  Associate 
Judges,  all  nominated  by  the  Governor  and  appointed 
by  the  Legislature  for  a  term  of  eight  years.  Cases  are 
appealed  to  this  court  on  questions  of  legal  procedure, 
that  is,  this  court  only  determines  whether  or  not  a  case 
has  been  conducted  without  error,  in  the  lower  court. 


58  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

In  case  of  error,  this  court  orders  a  new  trial.  The 
state  is  divided  into  three  judicial  districts,  in  each  one 
of  which  according  to  prearranged  schedule  this  court 
holds  session.  Cases  must  be  tried  in  that  district  in 
which  they  have  come  up  for  their  first  trial  except  when 
by  the  special  consent  of  the  court  they  are  allowed  to 
come  up  in  another  district.  A  case  in  which  there  had 
been  violent  local  feeling  might  be  one  which  would  be 
granted  such  a  change  of  venue. 


59 


VII. 

NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 

nr^HE  source  of  authority  back  of  a  democratic 
-*•  government,  let  us  remember,  is  the  people.  This 
union  of  states  which  makes  up  our  Nation  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  providing  the  colonies  with  greater 
power  in  their  international  affairs  and  also  of  regulat- 
ing trade  and  political  intercourse  between  the  states. 
The  states  were  therefore  in  the  position  of  delegating 
only  such  powers  to  the  Nation  as  they  believed  were 
necessary,  and  regarded  themselves  as  the  source  of 
the  Nation's  authority.  This  question  of  deciding  how 
much  power  the  Nation  should  have  and  how  much 
should  be  retained  by  the  states  was  at  that  time  a 
delicate  one. 

TTiere  were  at  the  time  two  strongly  opposed 
factions.  The  one.  led  by  Alexander  Hamilton,  taking 
very  little  pains  to  conceal  their  contempt  for  the  com- 
mon people  and  convinced  that  popular  government 
could  only  mean  government  by  a  selected  few  of  the 
people,  naturally  took  the  position  that  there  must  be 
a  strong  controlling  power  at  the  center.  Opposing 
them,  was  the  other  group  who,  under  the  leadership 
of  Thomas  Jefferson,  conceived  of  democracy  as  some- 
thing which  could  be  actually  put  into  practice.  With 
a  deep  faith  in  the  people's  power  to  govern  themselves, 
this  group  stood  out  for  states*  rights,  holding  that  it 
would  be  worse  than  folly  for  the  people  of  this  new 
world  to  place  upon  their  necks  the  yoke  of  a  strongly 
centralized  power  which  might  become  as  oppressive 


60  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

as  the  autocratic  government  from  which  they  had  es- 
caped. There  was  also  considerable  jealousy  among 
the  states  themselves.  TTiey  each  saw  the  possibility 
of  the  central  power  slipping  into  the  hands  of  some 
other  state  which  would  then  become  dominant. 
Through  the  compromise  of  all  these  factions  and  fears, 
the  people  finally  determined  to  grant  to  the  national 
government  only  such  powers  as  were  essential  to  the 
union,  and  our  present  form  of  government  was  adopted. 
The  effect  of  these  various  compromises  are,  however, 
evident  in  more  than  one  of  its  details. 

But  the  question  of  how  much  or  how  little 
power  the  central  government  should  have  was  not 
finally  settled  at  that  time.  It  was  revived  and  fought 
out  again  in  the  Civil  War.  But  we  are  coming  to 
realize  that  it  is  one  of  those  questions  of  government 
which  can  never  be  finally  settled.  As  conditions 
change,  our  point  of  view  does  and  should  shift  with 
them.  The  present  day  tendency  undoubtedly  is 
toward  a  much  more  strongly  centralized  government, 
more  and  more  power  in  Washington,  and  less  and  less 
in  the  state  capitol.  Whether  this  will  prove  to  be  a 
temporary  war  condition  from  which  we  will  react 
when  peace  is  re-established,  or  a  permanent  tendency 
of  our  government  yet  remains  to  be  seen. 

No  point  of  our  government  is  more  interest- 
ing to  study  than  this  relationship  of  state  and  nation. 
Nowhere  has  this  federation  idea  been  so  completely 
and  satisfactorily  worked  out  as  here  in  the  United 
States.  And  it  is,  of  all  the  peculiarities  of  our  govern- 
ment, the  one  which  the  people  of  other  nations  have 
the  most  difficulty  in  understanding  and  appreciating. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  61 

As  the  basis  of  our  national  government  we 
have  that  great  document,  the  United  States  Constitu- 
tion. We  can  not  be  too  appreciative  of  the  principles 
which  it  embodies  and  of  the  men  who  wrote  it.  Their 
difficulties  were  enormous.  The  conflict  of  interests  and 
opinions  which  they  had  to  consider,  the  fact  that  there 
was  no  other  similar  government  in  existence  upon 
which  they  might  found  their  work  made  their  task 
doubly  hard.  They  had  to  guide  them  only  their  own 
deep  and  sincere  purpose,  such  experience  as  they  could 
gather  from  the  state  governments  and  as  much  of  the 
English  theory  of  government  as  they  felt  could  be 
embodied  into  the  constitution  of  a  free  country.  Glad- 
stone has  said  of  it  that  it  is  **the  most  wonderful  work 
ever  struck  off  at  a  given  time  by  the  brain  and  purpose 
of  man.**  It  was  not,  as  we  could  surely  not  have  ex- 
pected it  to  be,  entirely  without  defects  and  omissions. 
But  changes  were  very  wisely  provided  for.  At  the 
first  session  of  the  first  congress  held  after  the  constitution 
was  adopted,  twelve  articles  or  amendments  providing 
for  the  greater  security  of  the  rights  of  men  were  pro- 
posed and  adopted.  Since  that  time,  five  other  changes 
have  been  made  in  the  constitution,  each  one  only  an 
elaboration  of  the  principles  of  right  and  justice  laid 
down  in  the  original  documents. 

But  though  it  was  recognized  that  changes 
should  be  possible,  they  were  not  made  easy  of  accom- 
plishment. The  necessary  procedure  is:  the  resolution 
embodying  the  proposed  change  or  amendment  may  be 
introduced  in  either  of  the  two  houses  of  the  national 
legislative  body.  Congress,  and  must  receive  a  two- 
thirds  favorable  vote  from  both  houses.  It  must  then 
be   submitted   to   the   states,    three-fourths   of   which. 


62  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

through  their  state  legislatures  must  ratify  it.  The 
Governors  of  the  states  must  see  that  it  comes  up  to  be 
voted  on  by  the  state  legislatures.  Some  amendments 
must  be  ratified  by  the  states  within  a  given  time,  upon 
others  there  is  no  such  time  limit. 

The  question  is  sometimes  raised  as  to 
whether  a  constitution  is  a  help  or  a  hindrance  to  a 
democratic  government.  On  the  one  hand  it  lies  back 
of  the  legislators,  and  prevents  them  from  becoming 
a  "sovereign  body'* ;  on  the  other  hand  it  tends  to  tie 
the  present  generation  sometimes  perhaps  too  firmly  to 
principles  and  theories  of  government  which  might  have 
been  entirely  adequate  and  just  a  hundred  years  ago 
and  yet  not  all  suited  to  our  own  needs. 

The  National  Government  is,  as  we  know,  a 
Republic.  Each  state  has  its  proportional  representa- 
tion in  the  legislative  halls  at  Washington.  We  find  in 
our  National  Government  also  the  three  great  depart- 
ments. Legislative,  Executive  and  Judicial. 

The  Legislative  Department  is  made  up  of 
two  Houses,  similar  to  those  of  the  states,  the  Senate 
and  the  House  of  Representatives,  called  the  United 
States  Congress. 

Members  of  Congress  are  elected  at  the 
November  elections.  They  are  recognized  as  members 
the  following  March  fourth,  but  do  not  meet  in  regular 
session  until  the  next  December.  On  the  first  Monday 
in  December  in  the  odd-numbered  years,  the  new 
Congress  holds  its  first  or  long  session.  They  continue 
in  session  usually  until  late  spring  or  summ.er.  They 
meet  for  a  second,  short  session  again  in  December,  the 
first  Monday,  in  the  even-numbered  year,  and  adjourn 
on  March  4th,  when  the  next  new  Congress  comes  into 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  63 

existence.  One  Congress  thus  exists  for  two  years  and 
has  two  regular  sessions.  The  President  may  call  an 
extraordinary  session  of  Congress  before  December  or 
after  Congress  has  adjourned  during  the  summer. 

The  House  of  Representatives  is  made  up  of 
members  elected  every  two  years  by  the  voters  of  the 
states.  Each  member  presumably  represents  a  certain 
proportion  of  the  papulation,  at  present  something  over 
200,000.  This  is  determined  by  Congress  which 
decides,  after  each  census  that  must  be  taken  every  ten 
years,  how  many  Representatives  there  shall  be.  and 
then  apportions  this  number  among  the  states.  Each 
State  Legislature  divides  its  state  up  into  Congressional 
Districts,  from  each  one  of  which  a  member  is  sent.  If 
there  is  not  this  requisite  population  in  the  whole  state, 
one  Representative  is  still  allowed.  Connecticut  has 
five  Representatives.  A  Representative  to  Congress 
must  be  twenty-five  years  old.  must  have  been  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States  for  at  least  seven  years  and  must 
be  a  resident  of  the  state  from  which  he  is  sent. 

The  Senatorial  representation  is  not  upon  the 
population  basis.  All  states  have  the  same  number  of 
Senators,  two  from  each  State.  They  are  elected  by 
the  people  for  a  term  of  six  years.  It  is  so  arranged 
that  only  one-third  of  the  Senate  may  be  elected  any 
one  year.  By  this  provision  two-thirds  of  the  Senatorial 
Body  are  experienced  in  the  conduct  of  their  affairs. 
Senators  were  formerly  elected  by  the  State  Legisla- 
tures. In  1913.  by  a  Constitutional  Amendment,  the 
direct  popular  election  of  Senators  was  provided  for. 
A  senator  must  be  at  least  thirty  years  old,  and  have 
been  a  citizen  not  less  than  nine  years. 


64  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

This  double  basis  of  representation  in  the  two 
houses  of  the  national  government  is  another  evidence  of 
the  compromises  made  by  its  founders.  The  fear  which 
the  smaller  states  had  that  in  case  the  representation  was 
upon  a  population  basis  the  larger  states  would  have  a 
controlling  power  over  the  smaller  or  more  thinly  settled 
ones  was  met  by  the  agreement  to  have  the  representa- 
tion of  the  upper  house  equal  from  all  states.  Also  the 
objection  that  short  term  elected  officials,  such  as  the 
members  of  the  lower  house,  would  put  the  government 
too  much  into  the  hands  of  the  people  was  provided 
for  by  giving  the  senators  a  much  longer  term  and  having 
them  elected  not  by  the  people  but  by  the  representatives 
from  each  state. 

The  powers  of  Congress  are  large.  It  may 
levy  and  collect  taxes,  though  a  revenue  bill  must 
originate  in  the  Lower  House ;  it  has  exclusive  power  to 
declare  war,  to  raise  an  army  and  navy  and  provide 
for  their  support,  and  to  regulate  commerce.  Congress 
also  determines  the  conditions  of  naturalization  and 
immigration;  it  controls  our  postal  system  and  grants 
copyrights  and  patents;  it  coins  our  money  and  may 
borrow  or  lend  money.  It  also  governs  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

Bills  are  introduced  cOid  passed  through 
Congress  in  the  same  way  as  through  the  State  Legisla- 
tures, from  their  first  reading  referred  to  a  committee, 
from  the  committee  back  to  the  House  or  Senate  for  the 
second  reading,  to  come  up  again  for  the  third  reading 
and  the  vote,  after  which  if  passed  by  a  majority  they 
go  to  the  other  house  to  pass  through  the  same  process, 
after  which  they  may  be  signed  or  vetoed  by  the  Presi- 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  65 

dent,  allowed  to  become  a  law  by  his  failure  to  act,  or 
in  case  of  a  veto  passed  by  a  two-thirds  majority  over 
his  head. 

Questions  of  much  larger  importance  come 
up  before  the  national  than  before  the  state  legislative 
bodies,  and  men  should  feel  it  an  even  greater  honor  and 
responsibility  to  represent  the  people  of  their  state  in 
this  larger  way.  TTiey  should  not.  however,  forget  that 
they  should  in  no  way  serve  the  interests  of  their  own 
locality  when  such  service  conflicts  with  the  greater  good 
of  the  whole  nation.  Men  have  not  always  remembered 
this,  and  the  records  of  Congress  are  by  no  means  clear 
of  legislation  which,  while  perhaps  benefitting  a  very 
few,  can  hardly  be  thought  of  in  any  other  way  than 
as  robbery  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  Securing 
large  appropriations  of  public  fimds  for  the  unnecessary 
improvement  of  some  obscure  water  way.  for  handsome 
government  buildings  in  small  towns  and  cities — these 
are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  money  has  been  misused 
for  the  purpose  of  securing,  from  the  people  "back 
home.**  a  more  generous  endorsement  or  re-election  for 
the  legislator  who  put  the  matter  through.  This  corrupt 
practice  has  become  so  conmion  that  we  have  invented 
a  name  for  it,  calling  it  "pork  barrel**  legislation.  It 
is  often  possible  to  work  such  measures  through  by  the 
various  men  trading  support  for  their  various  measures, 
one  congressman  pledging  his  support  of  the  other's  bill 
if  the  favor  will  be  returned.  Also  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  congressman's  privilege  of  franking  or  sending, 
free  of  postage,  copies  of  speeches,  which  have  been 
printed  at  government  expense  and  sometimes  never  even 
delivered  in  Congress,  has  been  grossly  misused  for 
re-election  purposes. 


66  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

The  most  important  official  in  our  govern- 
ment is  the  chief  executive,  the  President.  Elected  for 
a  term  of  four  years,  he  stands  as  the  official  representa- 
tive before  the  world  of  our  great  nation.  He  is  en- 
dowed with  very  wide  powers  and  authority,  which  are, 
however,  by  no  means  absolute,  for  not  only  is  he  elected 
by  the  people  to  whom  he  is,  therefore,  responsible,  but 
he  is  also  limited  in  what  he  may  do  by  Congress  and  by 
the  National  and  State  Constitutions.  As  a  nation  we 
may  be  extremely  proud  of  the  men  we  have  chosen  for 
this  high  office.  They  have  not  all  been  men  of  equally 
great  endowments,  but  never  once  have  we  had  a  presi- 
dent whose  honor  might  be  questioned  or  who  has  in 
any  way  been  false  to  the  great  trust  we  have  reposed 
in  him. 

As  chief  executive,  the  President  is  the  one 
finally  responsible  for  the  administration  of  the  national 
government  in  all  its  departments.  He  is  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy;  he  makes  treaties  with 
foreign  nations,  though  these  must  be  ratified  or  ap- 
proved by  the  senate;  he  appoints,  again  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  senate,  our  ambassadors  to  foreign  countries, 
our  public  ministers  and  consuls,  the  judges  of  the 
supreme  court,  cabinet  officers  and  many  other  less  im- 
portant officers;  he  commissions  all  officers  of  the 
United  States;  and  receives  ambassadors  and  ministers 
sent  to  us  by  other  governments. 

Besides  his  duties  as  executive,  the  President 
also  has  a  share  in  the  legislative  work  of  the  national 
government.  He  influences  legislation  chiefly  through 
his  messages  to  Congress  which  it  has  long  been  the 
custom  for  him  to  send  once  a  year,  a  document  con- 
taining information,  which  he  might  suppose  Congress 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  67 

had  not  yet  received,  and  recommending  certain  legisla- 
tion. This  message  has  usually  been  read  by  someone 
else,  generally  before  a  joint  session  of  the  two  houses. 
In  more  recent  years  as  we  have  grown  less  afraid  of 
merging  the  legislative  and  executive  departments,  our 
presidents  have  sent  messages  to  Congress  much  more 
frequently.  And  our  last  president  has  further  broken 
precedent  by  going  himself  to  read  the  message  which 
he  wished  given  to  Congress.  There  are  also  other  ways 
in  which  the  President  may  have  a  share  in  legislation. 
He  may  call  special  sessions  of  Congress  for  the  con- 
sideration of  special  business  and  he  may  adjourn 
Congress  if  the  members  cannot  themselves  agree  upon 
a  time  for  closing  the  session.  And  finally  he  may 
sign  or  veto  the  measures  which  Congress  has  passed. 

In  the  judicial  department  also  the  President 
has  some  power,  though  far  less  than  in  the  other  two. 
Here  his  power  is  confined  to  granting  certain  reprieves 
and  pardons  and  commuting  the  sentence  of  those  who 
have  offended  against  the  United  States.  TTiis  power 
may  not,  however,  be  used  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

The  election  of  our  President  is  conducted 
in  a  peculiar  manner,  for  although  in  a  way  he  is  elected 
by  the  people,  we  still  use  a  method  which  at  the  time 
it  was  instituted  was  meant  to  hold  this  elective  power 
in  hands  thought  to  be  more  trustworthy.  Instead  of 
voting  directly  for  the  man  who  has  been  nominated 
at  the  great  national  party  convention,  we  elect  men 
whom  we  call  presidential  electors  and  these  men  choose 
our  President.  Each  state  is  entitled  to  as  many  presi- 
dential electors  as  it  has  members  of  the  two  Houses 
of  Congress.  Connecticut,  therefore,  has  seven  electoral 
votes.     These  electors  whom  we  have  elected  at  the 


68  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

November  presidential  elections  meet  at  the  State 
Capitol  on  the  second  Monday  of  the  following  January 
and  cast  their  vote  for  the  President.  When  this 
method  was  adopted,  it  was  thought  that  these  men 
would  exercise  their  own  judgment  in  the  choice  of  the 
chief  executive,  but  the  electors  are  at  present  no  more 
than  a  machine  which  registers  the  popular  vote.  But 
one  point  to  remember  is  that  though  these  electors  may 
have  been  elected  by  a  very  heavy  majority,  there  will 
still  be  only  this  given  number  of  votes  cast  for  the 
President.  The  electors  of  a  state,  while  not  required 
by  law  to  do  so,  are  expected  to  vote  for  the  same  can- 
didate. The  number  of  electoral  votes  a  President 
receives  may  be  no  indication  of  the  number  of  popular 
votes  cast,  the  greater  number  of  which  may  actually 
have  been  given  the  unsuccessful  candidate.  There  is 
a  movement  toward  the  abolition  of  this  method  and  the 
adoption  of  direct  nomination  and  election  of  the 
President.  No  President  has  ever  served  more  than 
two  terms  of  four  years  each,  but  there  is  no  law  against 
this.  A  President  must  be  a  natural-born  citizen,  at 
least  thirty-five  years  of  age. 

The  Vice-President  who  exists  chiefly  in 
order  to  take  the  President's  place  in  case  of  death,  has 
few  powers  or  duties.  He  presides  over  the  Senate,  but 
may  appoint  no  committees  and  may  vote  only  in  case 
of  a  tie.  His  qualifications  must  be  the  same  as  those 
for  the  President. 

The  President  has,  to  assist  him  in  the  execu- 
tive work  of  the  government,  a  Cabinet  made  up  of 
ten  officials,  each  at  the  head  of  his  separate  department. 
These  men  are  chosen  by  the  President  himself,  but 
their  appointment  must  be  confirmed  by  the  Senate. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  69 

They  act  as  advisors  to  the  President,  not  only  in  their 
own  department  but  in  the  matter  of  his  general  jDolicy 
also,  and  are  chosen  from  among  men  whom  the  Presi- 
dent feels  are  in  sympathy  with  his  aim.  Each  cabinet 
member  is  supposed  to  make  himself  an  authority  upon 
those  matters  over  which  his  department  has  dispensa- 
tion, and  to  hold  this  information  at  the  disposal  of  the 
President,  to  whom  alone  he  is  responsible  for  the  con- 
duct of  his  work.  For,  curiously  enough,  our  cabinet 
officials  are  in  no  way  responsible  to  either  Congress  or 
the  people.  It  rests  with  the  President  alone  to  use  them 
or  to  remove  them.  By  many,  this  is  thought  to  be  a 
great  weakness  in  our  system.  A  better  way.  they  hold, 
would  be  to  require  our  cabinet  officials  to  attend  the 
sessions  of  Congress  and  be  ready  at  all  limes  with 
expert  information  or  advise  as  to  the  matters  which 
come  under  their  department.  Also,  it  is  sometimes 
argued,  these  officials  should  not  be  appointed  for  the 
term  of  office  of  the  President,  but  should  be  held 
responsible  for  the  way  in  which  the  business  of  the 
government  is  carried  on  and  should  perhaps  automat- 
ically fall  if  what  they  recommend  does  not  receive 
endorsement  from  the  elected  representatives.  This 
would  be  somewhat  like  the  system  in  use  in  England 
and  by  many  it  is  thought  to  be  the  better  way. 

Our  cabinet  system  seems  to  have  grown  up 
in  a  rather  curious  manner.  Although  the  division  of 
the  executive  side  of  the  government  into  various  depart- 
ments has  been  provided  for  in  the  constitution,  and 
although  Congress  has  from  time  to  time,  as  the  need 
arose,  created  these  departments,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
constitution  which  establishes  the  heads  of  these  divi- 
sions as  £in  advisory  council  to  the  President.     They 


70  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

seem  to  have  grown  into  this  position  gradually,  as  the 
need  was  felt  for  them.  But  actually,  as  such,  the 
cabinet  has  no  legal  position.  This  leaves  the  President 
in  no  way  legally  bound  to  consult  them  or  to  abide  by 
their  advice,  though  it  is  customary  for  him  to  do  so. 

The  most  important  division  of  the  executive 
department  is  the  State  Department,  with  the  Secretary 
of  State  at  its  head.  He  is  also  recognized  as  the  head 
of  the  cabinet.  His  chief  responsibility  is  the  conduct 
of  foreign  affairs.  All  those  matters  in  which  our  gov- 
ernment contacts  with  other  foreign  governments  are 
handled  through  the  Secretary  of  State.  He  conducts 
all  foreign  negotiations,  receives  foreign  representatives, 
presents  them  to  the  President,  carries  on  the  corres- 
pondence with  our  representatives  in  other  countries  and 
issues  passports.  Certain  domestic  affairs  are  also  con- 
ducted by  him.  Communications  between  the  states 
and  the  national  government  are  carried  on  through  him. 
He  is  given  the  custody  of  the  great  seal  of  the  United 
States,  and  also  of  our  national  laws  and  treaties.  His 
department,  like  all  the  others,  is  sub-divided  into 
various  bureaus. 

The  next  department  in  rank  is  that  of  the 
Treasury,  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at  its  head. 
Its  chief  concern  is  with  the  finances  of  the  nation. 
This  secretary  studies  the  probable  revenues  and  ex- 
penditures of  the  government,  submits  an  annual  report 
to  Congress  which  presumably  is  the  basis  of  their  ap- 
propriations and  imposts,  though  we  have  not  actually 
worked  out  a  system  of  national  budget  making  which 
is  anything  like  adequate.  He  also  superintends  the 
collection  of  revenue  and  the  coinage  and  printing  of  our 
money.    This  department  also  receives  all  money  paid 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  7l 

into  the  nation,  issues  warrants  for  the  payment  of 
money,  redeems  the  notes  of  the  national  banks  and  has 
general  charge  of  all  the  money  belonging  to  the  nation. 

The  War  Department  never  seemed  more 
important  to  us  than  it  does  at  present.  TTirough  it,  the 
Secretary  of  War  has  control  of  all  the  military  affairs 
of  the  nation.  In  times  of  great  military  crises,  it  is 
of  the  most  vital  importance  that  he  be  a  man  of  power 
and  judgment.  He  is  responsible  for  the  proper  equip- 
ment and  maintenance  of  the  army,  for  our  forts, 
fortifications  and  camps,  for  the  transportation  of  our 
soldiers  and  the  vast  machinery  by  which  our  military 
affairs  are  conducted.  He  has,  to  help  him  with  the 
purely  military  side  of  the  work,  a  large  number  and 
variety  of  officials.  There  has  been  always  a  wide 
diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  size  of  the  standing  army 
which  our  government  should  keep.  And  although 
at  the  time  of  the  great  war  we  had  more  men 
under  arms  than  we  ever  thought  would  be  possible, 
this  fact  may  by  no  means  be  taken  as  proof  that  the 
civilized  nations  will  always  feel  obliged  to  set  aside 
great  numbers  of  men  from  the  common  industries  to 
serve  as  a  guard  against  aggressive  neighbors  and  to 
maintain  peace.  If  the  ideals  which  we  are  fighting 
for  are  ever  accomplished  and  a  family  of  nations, 
similar  to  our  family  of  states,  is  established,  we  may 
hope  to  find  ourselves  forever  done  with  arms. 

In  times  of  peace,  the  Department  of  War 
conducts,  through  its  engineers  and  its  explorers,  great 
improvements  and  undertakings,  all  of  which  aim  to 
benefit  humanity. 

The  Department  of  the  Navy  came  into 
existence  only  when  that  department  of  the  government 


72  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

became  so  large  and  important  as  to  make  necessary  its 
separation  from  the  War  Department.  As  its  name 
implies,  this  department  has  in  charge  our  war  vessels, 
their  construction,  manning  and  equipment  and  the 
general  ordering  of  what  shall  be  done  with  them.  It 
is  also  responsible  for  our  docks  and  navy  yards,  our 
military  academy  and  naval  observatory.  As  in  the 
War  Department,  the  various  divisions  or  bureaus  have 
men  of  official  rank  in  the  navy  at  their  head. 

The  Attorney-General,  as  legal  advisor  to  the 
President,  existed  officially  long  before  his  Department 
of  Justice  was  created.  It  is  only  as  the  affairs  of  our 
government  have  become  more  complicated  that  we 
have  needed  this  department.  Through  it,  the  Attorney 
General  cares  for  the  legal  matters  of  all  other  depart- 
ments, and  has  general  supervision  over  United  States 
District  Attorneys  and  Marshals.  It  is  a  very  large 
department  and  the  work  it  carries  on  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  the  government. 

With  no  one  of  these  departments  do  most 
of  us  contact  so  familiarly  as  with  the  Post  Office 
Department,  of  which  the  Postmaster-General  is  the 
head.  When  we  realize  the  enormous  business  of  con- 
ducting the  entire  mail  service  of  the  country  as  well 
as  the  great  mass  of  mail  that  goes  into  foreign  countries 
and  comes  to  us  from  them,  of  the  number  of  post-offices 
in  the  United  States  and  the  great  army  of  men  and 
women  employed  in  the  handling,  the  distribution  and 
carrying  of  our  mail,  we  begin  to  get  some  idea  of  the 
amount  of  work  which  this  department  does.  Through 
it  the  arrangements  are  made  for  transporting  our  mail 
by  land  and  sea,  for  our  rural  free  delivery  and  parcel 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  73 

post,   and  the  direction  and  inspection  of  our  great 
postal  system. 

The  Department  of  Interior,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Secretary  of  Interior,  performs  a  number 
of  functions.  It  has  charge  of  the  public  lands  of  the 
United  States,  those  great  tracts  which  from  time  to  time 
we  have  added  to  our  territory,  but  which  have  been 
divided  into  territories  and  states.  At  the  time  of  their 
division,  it  was  the  Department  of  Interior  that  made 
the  surveys  of  the  various  units.  This  department  also 
controls  those  sections  of  open  land  which,  in  the 
western  states  are  open  for  occupancy  to  those  wishing 
to  secure  small  holdings.  TTie  Bureau  of  Education 
is  another  branch  of  this  department,  collecting  statistics 
as  to  the  condition  and  progress  of  education  in  our 
country,  and  striving  in  every  way  to  improve  it.  A 
separate  Department  of  Education  with  its  Secretary 
a  Cabinet  member  has  been  proposed  and  no  doubt, 
will  eventually  be  created.  Through  the  Pension 
Bureau,  another  very  large  piece  of  work  comes 
under  the  control  of  the  Secretary  of  Interior.  It  pays 
out  enormous  sums  for  the  care  of  disabled  soldiers  and 
sailors.  We  also  care  for  our  Indians  through  this 
department,  purchasing  and  distributing  food,  examin- 
ing their  condition,  providing  schools  and  other  aids 
through  which  we  attempt  to  lift  them  up  to  civilization. 
And  finally,  it  is  through  the  Department  of  Interior 
that  patents  are  granted  and  the  geological  surveys  of 
forest  lands  and  mineral  resources  are  made.  Thus,  it 
will  be  easily  seen  that  no  one  of  these  executive  divi- 
sions is  more  busy  or  has  a  greater  variety  of  functions 
than  this  one. 


74  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

The  Department  of  Agriculture,  headed  by 
its  Secretary,  was  established  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
scientific  and  expert  help  to  our  great  mass  of  rural 
population.  It  also,  through  its  bureau  of  animal  indus- 
try, looks  after  the  animal  life,  inspecting  both  the  live 
animals  and  the  meat  and  working  to  prevent  disease. 
The  weather  bureau  is  another  important  section  of  this 
department. 

The  Secretary  of  Commerce  through  his 
Department  looks  after  our  commercial  affairs,  at  home 
and  abroad,  inspects  our  light-houses  and  steamboats, 
has  charge  of  the  immigration  service  and  the  bureau 
of  statistics,  and  once  in  ten  years  takes  the  census. 
Hiat  branch  of  it  which  is  designed  to  supervise  the 
trades  and  occupations,  in  which  the  vast  army  of  the 
workers  are  engaged,  has  finally  grown  so  large  that 
a  few  years  ago  it  was  necessary  to  create  a  separate 
department  to  handle  this  branch  of  the  work.  The 
Department  of  Labor  was  created  to  protect  the  wage 
earners,  to  look  after  their  interests  and  see  that  justice 
is  given  them. 

The  United  States  also  has  its  Judicial 
Department.  This  is  composed  of  three  classes  of 
Federal  Courts,  to  which  cases  may  be  carried  from 
the  State  Courts,  or  in  which  cases  may  be  tried  involv- 
ing different  States. 

The  territory  of  the  United  States  is  divided 
into  nine  great  Judicial  Circuits.  Each  one  of  these  is 
in  turn  divided  into  Judicial  Districts.  A  Circuit  Court 
of  Appeals  is  held  in  each  of  these  nine  Judicial  Cir- 
cuits, presided  over  either  by  an  Associate  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  or  by  a  Circuit  or  District  Judges. 
A  District  Court  is  held  in  each  Judicial  District,  pre- 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  75 

sided  over  by  a  District  Judge.  Federal  Judges  are 
appointed  by  the  President,  with  the  Senate's  approval, 
for  life. 

The  Supreme  Court  sits  in  Washington,  tries 
not  the  criminal  but  the  law.  to  determine  when  laws 
are  constitutional  or  when  a  trial  has  been  properly  con- 
ducted. Only  in  cases  concerning  foreign  ambassadors 
and  in  those  in  which  the  State  is  involved  does  this 
court  have  original  jurisdiction.  It  has  a  Chief  Justice 
and  eight  Associate  Justices,  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, with  the  approval  of  the  Senate,  for  life. 


76 

VIII. 

POLITICAL  PARTIES 

\X7E  have  in  America  what  is  called  a  bi-partisian 
^^  government,  that  is  a  government  in  which 
there  are  two  great  political  parties.  Other  political 
parties,  have,  as  we  know,  grown  into  more  or  less 
prominence  and  importance,  but  thus  far  the  great  power 
of  the  States  and  of  the  Nation  has  always  rested  in  the 
hands  of  one  of  the  two  great  parties. 

A  political  party  is  a  group  of  men  and 
women  who  believe  in  the  same  general  principles  of 
government  and  who  have  united  for  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  securing  control  of  the  government  and  of  put- 
ting into  practice  those  principles  which  they  profess. 
They  have  been  for  many  years  recognized  by  the 
States  and  the  Nation  and  laws  have  been  passed  which 
regulate  their  organization  and  practices.  The  public 
officials  are  nominated  and  elected  through  the  machin- 
ery of  political  parties;  policies  and  principles  are 
formulated  by  them  and  theoretically  at  least  the  gov- 
ernment is  administered  along  the  lines  laid  down  in 
the  party  platforms. 

The  two  political  parties  which  have  the 
largest  part  in  our  government  are  the  Democratic  Party 
and  the  Republican  Party,  each  of  them  having  sprung 
from  an  older  party  whose  principles  these  more  modern 
ones  are  supposed  to  have  inherited. 

The  Republican  Party  sprang  from  the  old 
Federalist  Party  which,  at  the  time  of  the  founding  of 
our  nation,  held  that  the  government  should  be  strongly 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  77 

centralized,  the  balance  of  power  resting  with  the 
Nation  rather  than  with  the  States.  The  belief  back 
of  this  principle  was  that  the  people  were  themselves 
unfit  for  any  large  share  in  their  own  government  and 
that  the  carefully  chosen  men  at  Washington  would  be 
far  more  capable  of  administering  it  for  them.  This 
idea  was,  of  course,  a  direct  heritage  from  Europe 
where  the  theory  of  a  governing  class  has  for  so  long 
been  an  accepted  one.  It  would  by  no  means  be  just  to 
charge  our  present  Republican  Party  with  having 
retained  this  distrust  of  the  people. 

Another  distinguishing  vital  principle  which 
the  Republican  Party  has  always  professed  is  that  of 
a  high  protective  tariff,  a  certain  fixed  rate  of  tax  or 
tariff,  set  by  Congress  and  charged  upon  manufactured 
articles  brought  into  our  country  from  other  parts  of  the 
world.  The  theory  is  that  our  home  industries  need 
protection  against  the  products  of  other  countries  where 
labor  is  cheaper  and  the  standards  of  living  are  not  so 
high.  Though  this,  theoretically,  may  seem  to  be  a 
protection  to  the  farmer  who  produces  the  raw  materials 
and  to  the  factory  workers  who  manufacture  them,  pro- 
tective tariff  has  proven  itself  of  far  more  benefit  to  the 
large  manufacturer  than  to  any  one  else  and  for  this 
reason  has  been  more  widely  indorsed  in  the  North  than 
in  the  southern  agricultural  states.  In  former  years  the 
tariff  issue  was  the  main  one  upon  which  political  party 
battles  were  fought  out.  It  has  become,  however, 
largely  a  theoretical  issue  as  have  many  of  the  other 
professed  differences  in  these  two  parties. 

The  Democratic  Party  had  its  origin  in  the 
old  Anti-Federalist  Party  which  held  that  since  the 
National  Government  was  one  of  delegated  powers 


78  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

from  the  States,  the  States  should  therefore  retain  the 
balance  of  power.  It  professed  a  large  faith  in  the 
power  of  the  people  to  govern  themselves  and  made  its 
first  appeal  consequently  to  the  less  well-to-do  and  less 
conservative. 

The  Democratic  Party  also  professed  a  belief 
in  free  trade,  not  that  imports  should  be  admitted 
entirely  free  of  any  tax,  but  that  a  small  tax  for  revenue 
only  should  be  levied,  that  is,  only  a  small  sum  which 
should  be  contributory  to  the  up-keep  of  the  government, 
through  which,  of  course,  the  privilege  of  the  importer 
was  secured.  This  policy  appealed  much  more  to  the 
agrarian  than  to  the  manufacturing  class  and  therefore 
found  its  largest  support  in  the  South,  because  the 
owners  of  the  great  plantations  would  find  a  better  ex- 
port market  for  their  raw  materials  provided  the  articles 
made  from  these  products  had  free  entrance  back  into 
the  United  States.  Thus  from  the  beginning  party 
conviction  has  been  more  or  less  a  matter  of  personal 
advantage  and  chance  location,  the  men  from  the  North 
who  profited  by  the  principles  of  Republicanism  being 
almost  unanimously  Republican,  the  men  from  the 
South  whose  fortune  and  well-being  depended  upon 
the  principles  of  Democracy,  belonging  almost  all  of 
them  to  that  party. 

The  actual  difference  today  between  the  two 
parties  is  very  slight.  Foreign  statesmen  such  as  Bryce 
can  find  no  distinguishing  characteristics.  Many  times 
in  its  history  the  Republican  party  has  advocated  a 
measure  which  was  clearly  a  movement  toward  States 
Rights,  many  times  it  has  reduced  and  readjusted  the 
tariff  on  certain  articles.  So  the  Democratic  Party  has 
more   than    once   directly    set   itself   to    oppose   some 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  79 

measure  which  was  expressive  of  States  Rights;  also 
it  has  lifted  the  "revenue  only'*  tariffs  till  they  were 
hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  the  larger  protective 
ones.  Even  the  party  leaders  are  not  very  convincing 
when  they  try  to  formulate  the  differences.  In  fact, 
both  of  these  two  parties  may  be  said  to  exist  primarily 
for  patronage,  the  offices,  the  honors,  the  salaries  which 
are  to  be  distributed  among  the  members.  The  one 
advantage  which  we,  the  people,  may  be  said  to  gain 
from  having  the  two  parties  is  that  in  case  of  too  flagrant 
corruption  or  mismanagement  we  may  try  the  expedient 
of  putting  in  the  opposing  party  which  will  at  least  for 
a  time  disport  itself  in  a  more  seemly  manner.  One 
party  can  be  said  to  be  no  more  corrupt  than  the  other 
but  any  party  which  holds  power  loo  long  and  begins 
to  feel  itself  entirely  secure  in  its  place  is  apt  to  degen- 
erate somewhat  from  the  high  ideals  of  social  service. 

The  Prohibition  Party  came  into  existence 
at  a  much  later  period,  having  sprung  up  in  1672  and 
having  since  that  time  grown  to  be  a  factor  in  state  and 
municipal  politics.  It  began  with  the  one  avowed  pur- 
pose of  doing  away  with  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquor  but  its  platform  now  contains  many 
other  valuable  planks. 

The  Progressive  Party  was  made  up  of  men 
and  women  who  broke  away  from  the  old  parties, 
chiefly  from  the  Republican,  in  1912.  It  advocated 
many  modern  reforms  and  its  platform  was  a  distinct 
advance  from  those  of  the  two  older  parties.  It  has 
for  various  reasons,  now  gone  out  of  existence,  but  any 
reform  party  which  reaches  the  proportions  attained  by 
the  Progressive  Party  is  very  sure  to  act  in  a  liberalizing 
way  upon  the  more  conservative  party  organizations. 


80  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

The  Socialist  Party,  also  one  of  the  late 
political  organizations,  came  into  existence  here  in  1 900. 
It  advocates  a  very  large  popular  control  of  the  govern- 
ment, professing  a  profound  faith  in  the  people.  Gov- 
ernment or  municipal  ownership  of  natural  resources, 
such  as  waterways,  public  lands,  forests,  etc.  and  of 
public  utilities,  such  as  streetcars,  railways,  telephones, 
etc.,  are  some  of  the  things  for  which  this  party  stands. 
There  is  much  in  the  management  of  this  party  and  in 
some  of  its  more  advanced  theories  which  is  today  in 
disfavor,  but  it  is  still  highly  probable  that  our  after- 
the-war  program  will  include  some  of  the  economic  and 
industrial  reforms  which  the  Socialist  Party  has  advo- 
cated. In  fact,  both  of  the  two  great  parties  have 
already  adopted  some  of  these  reform  measures  and 
modified  their  platforms  more  along  the  lines  of  this 
party  of  protest. 

The  organization  of  these  nation-wide  Politi- 
cal Parties  is  elaborate  and  complicated.  It  differs 
somewhat  in  the  different  parties,  but  the  general  outline 
is  similar.  It  is  carried  on  through  a  series  of  commit- 
tees and  conventions,  reaching  from  the  town  to  the 
national  unit  and  through  which  presumably  every  man 
in  the  state  is  reached.  Such  an  organization  has  very 
great  power  which  may  be  used  well  or  badly.  No 
more  flagrant  example  of  the  misuse  of  a  very  elaborate 
and  splendidly  complete  organization  may  be  cited  than 
that  of  Tammany  Hall  in  New  York.  Tammany 
influence  reaches  down  to  the  last  man  in  every  ward 
where  the  Ward  Captain  is  supposed  to  have  working 
under  him  street  representatives  who  are  in  touch  per- 
sonally with  every  man  who  is  enrolled  in  the  party  or 
who  might  possibly  be  induced  to  enroll.     This  great 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  81 

influence  has  been  secured  through  the  generous  dis- 
tribution of  patronage  and  other  less  evident  attentions, 
such  as  groceries  or  a  load  of  coal. 

The  National  Committee  of  each  party  has 
on  it  one  member  from  each  state,  chosen  at  the 
National  Convention  by  the  delegates  from  that  state, 
to  serve  during  the  four  ensuing  years.  The  chairman 
of  this  committee,  though  nominally  chosen  by  the 
members,  is  in  reality  usually  selected  by  the  presidential 
candidate.  He  is  a  man  of  the  widest  possible  acquaint- 
ance with  the  politicians  and  the  political  situation 
throughout  the  entire  country,  one  well  acquainted  with 
the  exact  purposes  of  his  party  and  between  whom  and 
the  presidential  candidate  there  is  sympathy  and  under- 
standing. He  is  finally  the  man  upon  whom  rests  the 
responsibility  of  the  campaign.  His  purpose,  in  con- 
junction with  the  National  Committee,  is  to  elect  his 
party  candidates.  To  this  end  he  keeps  as  closely  in 
touch  as  possible  with  the  men  of  influence  in  his  party, 
arranges  to  secure  and  to  expend  the  large  sums  neces- 
sary for  conducting  such  a  campaign,  for  speakers 
throughout  the  country,  for  all  manner  of  rallies  and 
open  meetings  by  which  the  individual  voter  may  be 
influenced. 

Perhaps  the  most  spectacular  piece  of  work 
they  do  is  to  arrange  for  the  great  National  Party 
Convention,  held  usually  in  the  summer  before  the  elec- 
tions. To  this  Convention  each  state  sends  twice  as 
many  delegates  as  it  has  representatives  in  both  houses 
in  Washington.*   When  assembled  this  Convention  is, 

*  This  basis  of  representation  has  been  slightly  al- 
tered in  the  Republican  National  Convention. 


82  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

therefore,  a  very  large  one  and  only  some  great  hall 
will  be  adequate  for  its  meeting  place.  The  delegates 
to  this  National  Convention  have  been  selected  at  the 
state  conventions  and  must  present  their  credentials  and 
be  recognized  before  they  are  seated.  One  or  two  of 
the  Western  States  have  sent  women  delegates  to  the 
National  Conventions  and  they  have  been  recognized 
and  seated. 

The  chief  business  of  the  National  Conven- 
tion is  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the  offices  of  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President  and  to  formulate  the  Party 
Platform.  The  party  platforms  change  from  year  to 
year  and  it  is  in  the  National  Convention  that  these 
changes  are  made.  Each  party  attempts  to  feel  the 
pulse  of  the  people  and  determine  what  changes  or 
reforms  or  new  policies  would  be  popular  at  the  time. 
These  "planks"  are  incorporated  in  the  party  platform 
and  nominally  at  least  are  expressive  of  the  principles 
which  the  members  of  the  party  and  the  officers  they 
elect  will  seek  to  put  into  force.  Strict  adherence  to  the 
planks  of  a  platform  is,  however,  by  no  means  uni- 
versal. And  the  public,  aroused  perhaps  at  the  time  of 
the  election  to  a  real  interest  in  such  matters,  too  often 
allows  its  interest  to  wane  and  does  not  hold  the  officials 
up  to  any  high  standard  of  loyalty  to  the  platform  upon 
which  they  have  been  elected.  Thus  the  blame  for 
misgovernment  does  not  rest  entirely  upon  the  officials 
but  touches  the  electorate  as  well  who  owe  to  their  com- 
munity both  uprightness  and  vigilance. 

The  candidate  for  the  President  and  Vice- 
President  are  nominated  usually  by  some  one  selected 
for  the  task  who,  in  an  elaborate  speech,  outlines  the 
qualifications  of  the  man  he  proposes.     There  are  apt 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  83 

to  be  several  names  proposed  for  each  office,  and  occa- 
sionally it  happens  that  an  unexpected  candidate  is 
nominated.  But  as  a  rule  the  matter  has  all  been  care- 
fully planned  out  before  the  meeting,  the  qualifications 
of  the  men  studied,  the  influence  of  the  different  states 
measured.  The  candidate  is  nominated  by  a  vote  of 
the  Convention,  after  which  he  is  officially  notified  of 
the  honor  which  has  been  bestowed  upon  him.  In  his 
speech  of  acceptance,  he  makes  a  definite  statement  of 
the  policies  he  will  advocate. 

Each  state  has  its  State  Committee  and  State 
Convention  corresponding  in  the  main  to  the  National 
Committee  and  Convention.  In  Connecticut  the  State 
Central  Committees  of  the  various  Parties  are  made  up 
of  thirty-five  members,  one  from  each  Senatorial 
District,  elected  by  the  convention  for  a  term  of  two 
years.  The  delegates  to  the  State  Convention  are  upon 
a  basis  of  representation  similar  to  that  of  the  National 
Convention,  twice  as  many  representatives  from  each 
town  as  the  town  has  members  of  the  Lower  House  and 
two  additional  representatives  from  each  senatorial 
district. 

The  main  business  of  the  State  Central  Com- 
mittee is  to  manage  the  Ceunpaign  of  the  candidates  for 
state  office  and  to  gain  the  control  of  the  State  govern- 
ment. Upon  their  good  judgment  and  skill  in  handling 
men  and  in  meeting  opposition,  the  fate  of  the  election 
may  turn.  The  State  Convention  nominates  the  candi- 
dates for  the  various  elective  state  offices  and  also 
writes  a  state  platform  which,  besides  in  general  endors- 
ing the  national  platform,  touches  also  upon  matters  of 
local  concern. 

The  state  platform  is  not  apt  to  be  a  docu- 


84  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

ment  of  any  very  great  importance.  The  main  party 
issues  are  presumably  national  in  significance,  and  as 
we  follow  elections  and  party  issues  from  the  larger  to 
the  smaller  unit,  we  find  that  the  personality  of  the  can- 
didate, friendships  and  other  interests  aside  from  party 
ones  are  large  factors  in  local  elections. 

Besides  these  two  main  committees  and  con- 
ventions each  party  also  arranges  for  a  number  of 
smaller,  minor  committees  and  conventions,  each  one  of 
which  is  responsible  for  its  division  of  the  work.  Among 
these  are  the  Congressional  Campaign  Committee,  a 
national  organization  made  up  of  one  member  from  each 
State;  in  Connecticut  probate  district;  county  and 
town  committees.  The  members  of  these  committees 
seek  always  to  extend  the  power  and  influence  of  their 
party.  In  the  cities  and  towns  that  have  several  voting 
precincts,  the  work  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  ward, 
precinct  and  sometimes  street  leaders.  These  are  usu- 
ally men  of  strong  local  influence  who  may  be  trusted 
to  handle  the  voters  and  show  returns.  It  is  here  that 
perhaps  the  greatest  amount  of  political  corruption 
creeps  in. 


as 


DC 

ELECTIONS 

PP  LECTIONS  in  Connecticut,  are,  as  we  have  seen, 
^^^  held  at  various  times  in  the  spring  or  fall  for  the 
purpose  of  choosing  men  for  National,  State  and  local 
offices.  The  most  important  election  in  our  government 
is  that  at  which  we  choose  our  President.  And  yet 
there  is.  strictly  speaking,  no  National  election.  All 
national  officers  must  therefore,  be  elected  at  State 
Elections.  The  only  part  which  the  Nation  plays  in 
the  matter  is  that  Congress  fixes  the  dates  on  which  our 
national  officers  shall  be  elected.  So  also  the  Nation 
through  its  Constitution  and  its  law  making  bodies 
decides  what  constitutes  citizenship,  that  is.  the  condi- 
tions upon  which  foreigners  may  be  naturalized,  but  the 
entire  question  as  to  who  may  vote  has  been  regarded 
as  a  matter  for  the  States  to  determine.  Thus  in  some 
of  our  States  a  man  does  not  even  have  to  become 
naturalized  in  order  to  vote.  He  is  given  this  privilege 
if  he  has  declared  his  "intentions.**  that  is.  taken  out  his 
first  papers.  So  also  it  has  been  within  the  province 
of  the  States,  by  changing  their  Constitutions,  to  enfran- 
chise their  women.  By  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  of 
our  United  States  Constitution  however.  States  were, 
you  remember,  forbidden  to  deny  the  right  to  vote  to 
any  one  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition 
of  servitude. 

We  have  learned  that  in  order  to  vote  in 
Connecticut,  a  man  or  woman  must  "be  made**  by  the 
Town    Board   of   Registrars.      This   gives   the   male 


86  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

registered  voter  the  right  to  vote  at  the  town,  city,  state 
and  national  elections.  Women,  we  remember,  may 
vote  only  on  school  questions ;  and  in  some  of  the  cities 
where  the  School  Boards  are  appointive,  there  are  no 
officials  for  whom  women  may  vote. 

Men  who  realize  the  power  of  the  ballot  and 
who  are  conscientious  in  the  exercise  of  it,  are  not  con- 
tent with  voting  at  the  final  elections.  They  wish  also 
to  have  a  voice  in  selecting  the  candidates.  They  can 
do  this  only  by  taking  part  in  the  Caucus. 

Some  states  hold  Primaries  where  the  candi- 
dates are  chosen,  some  states  have  what  is  called  the 
convention  system  such  as  we  have  seen  at  work  for  the 
nomination  of  Presidential  candidates.  In  Connecticut, 
except  in  a  few  towns,  the  old  Caucus  system  is  adhered 
to. 

In  order  to  take  part  in  the  party  Caucuses, 
men  must  not  only  have  been  made  voters,  their  name 
must  also  appear  on  the  caucus  or  party  list.  As  the 
parties  are  always  eager  to  enroll  new  members,  placing 
one*s  name  on  the  party  list  has  been  made  a  very  sim- 
ple and  easy  process.  After  having  been  made  a  voter, 
the  man  or  woman  has  only  to  notify  the  Registrars  of 
his  wish  to  join  the  party  he  selects.  He  may  do  this 
at  any  time  but  must  do  it  within  a  stated  time  before 
any  given  election  if  he  wishes  to  be  allowed  to  attend 
the  caucus  which  precedes  that  election.  Once  a  year, 
or  in  some  towns  twice  a  year,  a  few  weeks  before  the 
election,  the  Boards  of  Registrars  hands  to  the  Town 
Clerk  a  corrected  list  of  voters.  No  more  names  may 
be  added  before  the  ensuing  election.  If  a  man  wishes 
to  change  from  one  party  to  another  he  has  only  to 
notify  the  Registrars  but  this  too  before  the  corrected 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  87 

lists  are  handed  in.  Only  those  whose  names  appear 
on  the  caucus  list  will  be  allowed  to  vote  in  the  caucuses, 
but  those  who  have  been  admitted  have  the  right  both  to 
nominate  and  to  vote.  This  places  the  pwwer  abso- 
lutely in  the  hands  of  the  people.  But  strangely  enough, 
the  people  have  not  always  troubled  to  hold  to  this 
power.  They  have  all  too  frequently  grown  careless 
and  indifferent  and  not  even  bothered  to  attend  the 
caucuses.  In  this  way  the  power  which  should  be  the 
people's  has  slipped  into  the  hands  of  the  party  boss. 
Although  the  people  may  nominate  whom  they  choose, 
what  actually  happens  in  most  cases  is  that  a  small  group 
of  keen  men  who  have  a  very  definite  end  in  view,  make 
up  the  list  of  candidates  before  the  caucus  meets  and 
rush  the  list  through;  these  names  very  often  are  ac- 
cepted because  nobody  else  has  troubled  to  nominate 
better  men.  Like  all  other  faults  in  our  democratic 
government  this  can  only  be  remedied  by  the  people 
themselves.  They  have  it  in  their  power  at  any  time 
to  rid  themselves  of  party  bossism  and  run  their  govern- 
ment to  suit  themselves. 

In  towns  in  which  there  are  cities  the  control 
of  the  caucuses  has  passed  even  farther  out  of  the 
people's  hands.  Small  ward  caucuses  are  held  and 
from  these  delegates  are  sent  to  the  town  caucus.  In 
the  actual  matter  of  nominating  city  officials  only  these 
chosen  few  delegates  can,  therefore,  have  any  part. 
This  has  a  peculiar  significance  for  the  women  who  can 
theoretically  vote  on  all  school  questions  and  who  may 
be  enrolled  on  the  caucus  lists.  So  long  as  they  can 
vote  for  only  this  one  set  of  officials  no  ward  wishing 
to  have  a  share  in  the  nomination  of  all  candi- 
dates, would  send  a  woman  as  delegate  to  the  town 


88  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

caucus.  Until  they  have  won  their  complete  enfran- 
chisement they  can  therefore  do  no  more  than  vote  for 
candidates  in  whose  nomination  they  have  had  no  share. 
There  are  always  a  certain  number  of  men  in 
every  community  who  are  not  fully  in  accord  with  any 
of  the  political  parties.  They  feel  that  they  cannot 
honestly  enroll  or  become  a  member  of  any  party. 
They  can,  of  course,  vote  at  the  final  election  without 
enrolling  but  this  gives  them,  even  in  the  States  that 
have  Primaries,  no  voice  in  the  selection  of  candidates. 
But  there  is  a  very  wide-spread  feeling  that  party  enroll- 
ment is  not  actually  binding,  that  a  man  is  not  under 
obligation  merely  because  he  has  enrolled  in  a  party  and 
voted  in  the  party  primary,  to  vote  for  that  party  candi- 
date at  the  election.  Other  men,  however,  feel  that 
this  practice  would  not  be  quite  honest  and  these  men 
do  not  enroll  or  vote  at  primaries. 

It  is  possible,  however,  for  these  Independent 
Voters  to  nominate  a  candidate  by  petition,  that  is,  a 
certain  number  of  voters  sign  a  petition  asking  that  the 
candidate  be  nominated.  The  Independent  Voter  is 
a  growing  factor  in  all  elections,  and  as  more  and  more 
we  remove  party  politics  from  city  and  local  govern- 
ment these  Independent  Voters  will  grow  in  power. 
They  are  not,  as  we  might  guess,  regarded  with  great 
favor  by  the  machine  politician. 

We  may  remind  ourselves  again  that  the 
States  determine  who  may  vote;  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment decides  who  shall  have  the  right  to  become  a 
citizen. 

In  no  State  can  a  man  under  twenty-one 
vote. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  89 

In  Connecticut  only  citizens  may  vote.  They 
must  have  resided  in  the  State  one  year,  in  the  town  six 
months. 

A  foreigner  may  become  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  in  the  following  manner.  He  must  have 
lived  in  the  country  five  years  continuously  and  in  the 
State  one  year.  He  must  be  able  to  write  his  own 
language,  to  read  and  speak  English  and  be  of  good 
moral  character.  He  goes  to  a  federal  court,  the 
United  States  District  Court  or  Superior  Court,  where 
he  renounces  his  allegiance  to  any  foreign  power.  He 
is  then  given  his  "first  paper/*  but  is  still  a  foreign 
subject.  It  is  worth  noting  that  in  nine  of  our  states 
this  class  of  men.  not  yet  citizens  and  therefore  exempt 
from  the  draft,  enjoy  the  full  privilege  of  voting  at  all 
elections  and  upon  all  questions  that  are  submitted. 
This  action  was  probably  taken  in  those  days  when  the 
states  wished  to  encourage  the  immigrant  to  come  in 
and  settle  and  when  no  one  foresaw  the  possibility  of 
large  groups  of  enemy  aliens  enjoying  the  franchise 
which  had  been  denied  to  native  American  women. 

Not  less  than  two  years  or  more  than  seven 
years  after  he  has  secured  his  first  papers  the  applicant 
for  citizenship  must  go  again  before  the  court  and  file 
in  his  own  handwriting  a  petition  of  naturalization.  In 
this  he  gives  his  name,  residence,  date  of  birth,  occupa- 
tion place  from  which  he  emigrated,  etc.  These  state- 
ments must  be  verified  by  two  witnesses  who  are  them- 
selves citizens  and  who  shall  testify  that  they  have 
known  the  applicant  for  five  years,  know  him  to  have 
lived  in  the  United  States  continuously  during  that 
period  and  in  Connecticut  for  one  year  and  that  he  is 
of  good  moral  character.     Ninety  days  later  he  goes 


90  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

before  the  court  again,  is  examined  by  the  judge,  re- 
nounces allegiance  to  any  or  all  foreign  states  or  powers 
and  takes  an  oath  of  loyalty  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States.  He  is  then  given  his  certificate  of 
citizenship.  Only  white  persons  and  negroes  may  be- 
come naturalized,  not  members  of  the  yellow  race. 
Unmarried  women  may  become  naturalized  in  the  same 
way  as  men  do.  Hie  married  woman  becomes 
naturalized  automatically  through  her  husband.  She 
may  not  become  naturalized  independently  of  him.  An 
American  woman  loses  her  citizenship  when  she  marries 
a  foreigner. 

Voting  is  the  direct  method  by  which  people 
take  a  part  in  their  own  government.  It  is  an  essential 
to  democracy.  The  actual  time  expended  in  casting  a 
ballot  is  very  little.  All  good  citizens,  men  and  women 
who  derive  benefits  from  the  government,  should  be 
conscientious  in  informing  themselves  as  to  the  candi- 
dates and  the  issues  and  unfailing  in  the  exercise  of  this 
precious  democratic  right  of  voting. 


91 


X. 

THE  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM 

l^ROM  the  very  early  days  of  its  history.  Connecticut 
-*"  has  shown  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  value 
of  schools.  An  old  school  law  in  Massachusetts,  order- 
ing every  town  in  which  there  were  more  than  fifty 
families  to  set  up  a  school,  points  out  that  only  in  this 
way  could  that  **oId  deluder.  Saten.**  be  overcome. 
We  find  Connecticut,  two  or  three  years  later,  adopting 
a  similar  law.  **in  order  that  learning  may  not  be  buried 
in  the  graves  of  our  forefathers.'* 

This  was  the  beginning  of  compulsory  educa- 
tion, limited,  let  us  notice,  by  the  phrase.  **to  the  extent 
of  ability.**  "Perfectly  to  read  the  English  tongue, 
and  knowledge  of  the  capital  law,**  were  the  require- 
ments. The  object  of  the  grammar  schools  in  towns 
of  more  than  one  hundred  families  was  to  fit  "youths** 
for  the  university.  This  depth  of  learning  was  not 
thought  consistent  with  womanly  virtue  and  modesty. 

There  was.  at  this  time,  seldom  more  than 
one  group  of  families  in  a  town.  In  settling  they  had 
naturally  remained  within  fairly  easy  reach  of  one 
another,  of  their  little  town  hall  and  of  their  church. 
For  remember  that  these  early  groups  are  to  be  thought 
of  rather  as  congregations,  their  religious  liberty  the 
strongest  motive  that  had  impelled  their  departure  from 
the  mother  country,  this  church  which  they  had  set  up 
the  greatest  power  in  their  new  life.  The  schools  when 
they  were  established  were  naturally  set  up  in  the 
shadow  of  the  church.    But  as  population  increased  and 


92  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

other  families  came  to  live  in  other  parts  of  the  town, 
it  proved  inconvenient  and  sometimes  quite  impossible 
for  the  children  of  these  more  remote  families  to  attend 
school  regularly.  Youths  so  situated  could  not  be 
trained  for  the  university,  the  old  deluder,  Saten,  was 
not  being  adequately  resisted;  the  graves  of  the  fore- 
fathers threatened  again  to  swallow  up  learning.  So 
another  school  was  set  up,  in  another  part  of  the  town, 
each  of  these  portions  of  the  town  being  taxed  to  sup- 
port its  own  school.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
school  district. 

This  system  of  dividing  towns  and  counties 
up  into  school  districts  spread  over  many  of  the  states 
and  seems  to  have  fastened  itself  very  firmly  upon  the 
people.  No  doubt  it  served  the  early  fathers  well,  no 
doubt  the  line  of  pupils  who  have  passed  through  it 
would  mount  up  into  a  mighty  army,  and  yet  today  it 
is  conamonly  regarded  by  educators  as  obsolete  and  in- 
adequate as  well  as  unjust  because  it  many  times  gives 
to  children  far  less  than  they  in  justice  have  a  right  to 
demand  of  society.  For  where  the  district  system  still 
prevails,  each  district  levies  its  own  tax,  determines  the 
standard  of  its  own  school  and  thus  the  poorer  dis- 
tricts are  many  times  actually  not  able,  or  perhaps  not 
sufficiently  awake  to  the  needs,  to  provide  adequate 
school  facilities.  The  trend  therefore,  is  toward  the 
consolidation  of  the  school  districts,  with  some  sort  of 
public  provision  for  taking  the  pupils  to  and  from  school. 
Something  more  nearly  approaching  an  equal  school 
tax  rate  could  in  this  way  be  established  and  tax  payers 
would  not,  as  they  often  are  now,  be  tempted  to  juggle 
with  boundaries  in  order  to  slip  out  of  a  district  in  which 
the  taxes  are  high  into  one  where  they  are  low.    Also, 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  93 

the  combined  lax  of  several  districts  would  equip  a  really 
adequate  school  and  provide  a  higher  grade  of  teacher. 
There  seems,  in  fact,  no  argument  against  the  move- 
ment and  yet  because  it  means  frequently  a  slight 
increase  in  the  school  tax.  usually  a  temporary  increase 
which  could  be  dropped  once  the  larger  equipment  was 
secured,  the  movement  toward  the  consolidated  school 
has  had  to  fight  its  way  almost  inch  by  inch. 

The  schools  of  the  district  were  and  are  in 
the  hands  of  a  district  school  committee,  elected  by  the 
voters  of  the  district.  But  this  did  not  mean  that  the 
town  released  its  authority.  There  was  a  set  of  town 
school  officials  who  were  also  in  charge.  A  plan  for 
the  division  of  authority  was  worked  out.  The  district 
committee  had  charge  of  the  school  prop>erty,  the  school 
finance  and  the  appointment  of  teachers.  The  school 
visitors,  the. town  officials,  examined  the  teachers  before 
they  could  be  appointed  by  the  District  Committee, 
determined  the  courses  of  study,  selected  the  text  books 
and  made  the  general  rules  by  which  the  schools  in  the 
town  were  regulated. 

The  system  is  evidently  a  cumbersome  one, 
so  cumbersome  that  Connecticut  in  spite  of  its  love  for 
inherited  forms,  has  finally  been  induced  to  abandon  it. 
By  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1 909,  every  town 
in  the  State  not  having  within  its  limits  a  city  or  borough 
or  district  organized  by  a  special  act  was  required  to 
put  its  schools  under  town  management.  There  are  also 
several  boroughs  and  cities  which  have  voted  to  adopt 
town  management  of  schools,  leaving  in  Connecticut  at 
this  time  less  than  ten  towns  where  the  district  system 
is  retained. 


94  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

This  adoption  of  town  management  means 
that  the  district  school  offices  no  longer  exist,  that  the 
town  school  committee  has  entire  charge,  that  all  of 
the  town  schools  are  supported  by  appropriations  made 
at  town  meetings.  It  has  resulted  in  lifting  the  standard 
of  the  schools  and  in  equalizing  the  advantages  in  the 
different  sections. 

It  is  possible  in  either  a  town  or  city,  by  a 
special  act  of  the  Legislature,  to  organize  a  school  dis- 
trict under  the  control  of  a  Board  of  Education.  Hart- 
ford still  retains  the  old  school  district  plan  with  a 
Board  of  School  Visitors  made  up  of  nine  elected 
members  who  appoint  a  Superintendent  of  Schools.  It 
has  also  a  High  School  Committee  composed  of  five 
elected  members.  The  principle  of  minority  repre- 
sentation is  observed  in  both  these  bodies.  Bridgeport 
and  New  Haven  each  have  a  Board  of  Education,  an 
elected  body  in  Bridgeport,  in  New  Haven  appointed 
by  the  Mayor. 

The  town  school  committee  may  have  three, 
six  or  nine  members,  either  men  or  women.  They  hold 
office  three  years,  where  there  are  six  or  nine,  one-third 
being  elected  each  year ;  where  only  three  members,  the 
three  are  elected  at  one  time,  every  third  year.  This 
committee  must  choose  its  chairman  and  secretary  and 
may  appoint  a  school  visitor  from  cimong  its  members  or 
it  may  appoint  any  qualified  person  it  selects  as  Super- 
intendent of  Schools.  Towns  employing  less  than 
twenty  teachers  do  not  usually  have  a  Superintendent 
of  Schools.  Sometimes  such  towns  combine  and  have 
one  Superintendent  for  two  or  more  towns.  Sometimes 
they  avail  themselves  of  the  State's  offer  to  furnish  a 
Superintendent. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  95 

These  Committees  have  entire  authority  in 
school  matters  and  act  in  co-operation  with  the  State 
Board  of  Education.  They  determine  how  the  schools 
shall  be  managed  and  disciplined,  what  studies  shall  be 
taught  and  the  length  of  school  day.  etc.  TTiey  also 
have  general  management  of  the  school  building,  they 
hire  and  examine  teachers,  they  keep  a  list  of  all  chil- 
dren between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen;  they  must 
visit  all  schools  in  the  town  once  in  so  often  and  must 
make  proper  reports  to  both  the  State  and  the  town. 
TTius  the  men  and  women  who  make  up  this  committee 
have  very  large  authority  and  may  be  a  great  factor  for 
good  in  their  community.  Only  intelligent  men  and 
women  of  the  highest  character  and  of  good  judgment 
should  be  elected  to  this  office. 

The  State  Board  of  Education  is  made  up  of 
the  Governor  and  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  ex-officio 
members,  four  members  appointed  by  the  State  Legis- 
lature for  a  term  of  four  years  and  one  member  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Senate,  for  a  term  of  two  years.  The  Board  appoints 
a  Secretary  and  determines  his  salary  and  may  hire 
any  necessary  clerks  to  assist  him. 

This  Board  has  general  supervision  and 
control  of  the  educational  interests  of  the  State.  They 
may  direct  what  books  shall  be  used,  though  this  is  usu- 
ally left  in  the  hands  of  the  local  school  authorities. 
They  keep  informed  as  to  the  condition  and  progress  of 
the  schools  throughout  the  state  and  seek  to  improve  the 
educational  methods  and  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching 
staff.  To  further  this  end,  they  hold  teachers*  and 
school  officers*  meetings  where  instruction  in  new  meth- 
ods is  given  and  general  plans  for  improvement  are  dis- 


%  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

cussed.  They  receive  the  reports  from  the  town  school 
officials  and  must  themselves  make  an  annual  report  to 
the  Governor.  They  also  have  charge  of  the  normal 
and  trade  schools. 

The  State  Board  also,  upon  the  request  of  a 
town  or  towns  which  employ  not  more  than  twenty 
teachers,  will  appoint  a  State  Superintendent  or  Super- 
visor whose  salary  is  paid  by  the  State.  Many  of  the 
towns  have  availed  themselves  of  such  supervision. 
Towns  which  employ  between  twenty  and  thirty  teach- 
ers may  have  such  State  supervision,  but  must  pay  half 
the  Superintendent's  salary.  The  larger  towns  elect 
and  pay  their  own  Superintendents.  The  State  Super- 
visors must  visit  the  schools  in  their  districts  twice  a 
month  and  aid  the  local  school  authorities  in  every  way 
possible. 

Connecticut  does  not  require  towns  to  main- 
tain High  Schools  but  any  town  may  vote  to  do  so  and 
at  present  about  half  of  the  towns  have  them.  The 
funds  for  the  equipment  and  for  the  running  expenses 
of  such  schools  are  levied  at  town  meetings. 

In  the  towns  which  do  not  have  the  consoli- 
dated schools  a  High  School  Committee  is  elected  with 
powers  and  duties  similar  to  those  of  the  District  Com- 
mittee. This  Committee  is  bi-partisan,  with  three,  four 
or  five  members.  In  consolidated  districts  the  High 
Schools  are  under  the  control  of  the  Town  Committee 
or  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

But  the  children  in  towns  that  do  not  main- 
tain High  Schools  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  advan- 
tage of  this  higher  training.  To  prevent  this  the  State 
has  passed  a  law  requiring  the  town  to  pay  the  whole  or 
any  required  part  of  the  tuition  fee  of  any  child  residing 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  97 

with  his  parent  or  guardian  in  the  town  and  who,  with 
the  written  consent  of  the  Town  School  Committee,  at- 
tends an  approved  high  school  in  another  town.  An- 
other statute,  passed  a  few  years  later,  requires  the  town 
also  to  pay  the  reasonable  and  necessary  transportation 
of  such  children.  Two-thirds  of  this  tuition  and  one- 
half  of  the  traveling  expense  is,  however,  paid  back  to 
the  town  by  the  State. 

Evening  Schools  must  be  held  in  town  or 
school  districts  having  ten  thousand  or  more  inhabitants. 
These  schools  are  intended  for  the  use  of  those  children 
over  fourteen  (at  which  age  the  law  allows  them  to 
begin  work)  who  may  still  desire  further  instruction. 
In  towns  where  such  evening  schools  are  maintained 
it  is  illegal  to  employ  any  person  over  fourteen  and 
under  sixteen  who  cannot  read  and  write,  unless  such 
person  can  prove  by  a  certificate  from  the  teacher  that 
he  is  a  regular  attendant  at  the  evening  school.  The 
State  allows  the  town  $2.25  for  each  person  instructed 
in  these  schools.  Towns  may  be  relieved  of  the  obliga- 
tion to  establish  evening  schools  at  the  discretion  of  the 
State  Board  of  Education  and  any  town  not  required 
to  keep  an  evening  school,  may  vote  to  do  so. 

The  Town  or  District  Committee  or  Board 
of  Education  must  see  that  proper  facilities,  buildings, 
equipment,  teachers  etc.,  are  provided  for  such  schools. 

Connecticut  has  established  and  maintains 
four  large  Normal  Schools  at  which  teachers  are 
trained.  There  are  no  tuition  fees  in  these  schools  but 
the  students  must  file  written  statements  of  their  inten- 
tion to  teach  in  the  public  schools  of  the  State.  The 
school  officers  of  each  town  furnish  to  the  State  Board 
names  of  persons  whom  they  recommend  for  admission. 


98  THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

Each  town  having  a  tax  valuation  of  not  more  than  one 
and  one-half  million  dollars  is  allowed  one  scholarship 
pupil  whose  board  to  the  amount  of  $130  the  State 
pays. 

Trade  Schools  are  also  maintained  by  the 
State  in  certain  districts,  in  which  both  evening  and  day 
classes  are  held.  Instruction  is  given  in  the  regular 
trades. 

Children  in  temporary  homes  or  in  the  county 
home  must  also  be  provided  with  suitable  educational 
advantages.  The  expense  of  such  instruction  falls  upon 
the  county  and  the  general  management  is  in  the  hands 
of  county  officials,  but  the  State  retains  a  strong  direct- 
ing authority  over  such  schools. 

Connecticut  is  rich  also  in  its  colleges.  The 
State  controls  and  partially  maintains  Storrs  Agricul- 
tural College  at  which  two  scholarship  students  from 
each  county  are  maintained  by  the  State.  Yale,  Trinity, 
Wesleyan  and  the  Connecticut  College  for  Women  are 
among  the  institutions  of  learning  which  have  been  a 
great  factor  in  the  life  of  the  State. 

The  public  schools  of  the  State  exist  for  the 
benefit  of  all  the  people.  It  is  only  just  therefore,  that 
they  should  draw  their  support  from  the  people.  We 
have  seen  how  the  districts  or  towns  or  cities  levy  what 
is  called  a  school  tax.  All  property  owners  are  subject 
to  this  tax  whether  they  have  children  or  not.  Towns 
must  expend  at  least  twenty-five  dollars  a  year  for  each 
pupil. 

In  1917  the  General  Assembly  passed  a  very 
fair  and  comprehensive  pension  system,  based  on  the 
contributory  principle,  for  public  school  teachers. 

In  addition  to  the  amount  raised  by  the  local 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT  99 

school  tax,  the  statr  allows  $2.25  annually  toward  the 
education  of  each  child  between  the  ages  of  four  and 
sixteen  in  the  district.  Seventy-five  cents  of  this  sum  is 
drawn  from  the  school  fund.  Connecticut  schools  also 
draw  a  small  revenue  from  what  is  called  the  town 
deposit  fund.  In  1837  the  United  States  had  a  surplus 
revenue  which  it  divided  among  the  States.  Connecticut 
put  this  sum  aside  and  requires  that  the  income  from 
it  be  used  for  the  up-keep  of  the  schools. 

Free  Text-books  are  not  obligatory  through- 
out the  State,  it  being  left  to  the  town  to  decide  whether 
or  not  text-books  shall  be  supplied  without  cost  to  the 
pupils  of  the  public  schools.  A  large  number  of  the 
towns  have  directed  their  School  Committees  to  pur- 
chase the  required  books  and  lend  them  to  the  pupils. 
free  of  charge. 

Connecticut  has  for  many  years  had  compul- 
sory education.  Children  are  future  citizens  and  it  is 
therefore  the  duty  of  the  State  to  see  that  the  children 
are  not  robbed  of  the  advantages  which  would  equip 
them  in  some  degree  at  least  for  taking  part  in  our  demo- 
cratic government.  Parents  and  guardians  are  required 
to  keep  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  sixteen 
in  school  during  the  hours  and  terms  in  which  the  public 
schools  are  kept  open.  The  only  exceptions  that  can 
be  made  are  where  children  above  fourteen  years  of 
age  can  pass  certain  prescribed  educational  tests  and  it 
can  be  shown  that  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  go  to  work. 
Both  employees  and  parents  are  held  liable  for  allow- 
ing other  children  to  leave  school  and  begin  work  dur- 
ing school  hours.  Where  the  parents  of  children  are 
too  poor  to  provide  clothing  suitable  for  their  children 
to  wear  in  school,  the  selectmen  of  the  town  may  be 


100        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

called  upon  for  assistance.  Truant  officers  are  also 
provided  in  the  State  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  that  chil- 
dren do  not  remain  away  from  school.  A  special  school 
for  boys  and  one  for  girls  are  provided  for  disobedient 
and  truant  children. 

The  State  does,  in  fact,  show  a  very  deep 
conviction  that  no  department  of  its  government  is  more 
important  than  that  of  the  schools.  In  fact  no  country 
that  allows  its  children  to  be  robbed  of  educational  ad- 
vantages, that  even  in  times  of  great  emergency  consents 
to  lessening  the  years  of  study  and  forcing  the  immature 
into  the  industrial  struggle,  can  hope  to  hold  a  high  place 
in  the  civilized  world.  To  use  up  our  child  force  in 
industry,  to  suffer  it  to  go  in  want,  to  remain  indifferent 
when  the  educational  facilities  we  provide  are  inade- 
quate, is  to  have  a  share  in  criminally  gambling  away 
our  futurities.  Every  community  needs  a  constantly 
growing  ideal  as  to  what  is  needed  in  the  way  of 
schools.  Beyond  question  many  marked  changes  are 
needed  in  our  educational  system.  Just  what  these 
changes  will  be  it  is  not  possible  to  predict.  But  they 
will  undoubtedly  be  along  the  line  of  giving  more  and 
not  fewer  advantages  to  our  children.  Perhaps  we 
shall  reduce  the  hours  they  spend  over  books  and  intro- 
duce more  practical  training;  perhaps  we  shall  become 
more  generally  aware  of  the  need,  the  necessity  of 
healthy,  supervised  play  so  that  our  city  children  will 
not  have  to  be  turned  out  to  their  games  in  the  track 
of  automobiles  and  trucks;  perhaps  we  shall  know  the 
folly  of  trying  to  teach  children  who  are  hungry  and 
shall  feed  the  starving  bodies  before  we  offer  a  feast  to 
their  little  brains ;  perhaps  we  shall  come  to  realize  that 
just  as  we  offer  free  education  to  all  children  and  it  is 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT         101 

no  disgrace  to  accept  it,  so  we  must  also  offer  care  for 
their  physical  well  being,  of  teeth  and  eyes  and  lungs.  In 
that  day  we  shall  have  begun  to  build  a  new  world 
and  we  shall  have  begun  at  the  foundation  where  all 
true  beginnings  must  be  made. 

In  all  this  work  no  one  surely  is  more  inter- 
ested, more  willing  and  should  be  more  powerful  to  help 
than  women.  It  is  of  all  departments  of  government  the 
one  in  which  women  do  have  and  should  have  the  largest 
share.  TTie  teaching  personnel  is.  as  we  know,  made 
up  almost  entirely  of  women,  perhaps  too  much  so.  but 
women  must  aim  for  a  larger  share  in  the  administra- 
tive work  of  the  schools  also.  There  can  no  longer  be 
any  doubt  that  women  are  capable  of  this  work,  but 
they  shall  have,  each  one  of  them,  to  begin  to  think  of 
themselves  as  somehow  vitally  responsible  for  the 
wrongs  and  errors  of  the  present  system  before  it  will 
be  possible  for  the  mother  of  the  race  to  be  of  such 
service  as  she  has  it  in  her  to  be  by  taking  an  active 
share  in  the  direction  and  management  of  the  schools. 


102 


XL 

COURTS 

TN  considering  the  judicial  department  of  the  several 
-■-  units  of  government  we  have  come  in  contact 
with  a  number  of  different  courts.  Let  us  now  gather 
our  scattered  facts  together  and  see  how  one  court  is 
related  to  another. 

First  of  all  it  is  important  that  we  remember 
that  there  are  two  great  classes  of  courts.  Federal  or 
United  States  Courts  and  State  Courts,  each  deriving 
its  power  from  the  constitution  of  the  respective  unit 
which  it  represents.  Following  the  plan  we  have 
adopted,  we  will  begin  with  the  lowest  Connecticut 
court  and  trace  the  judicial  department  of  government 
as  it  grows  and  develops,  finally  reaching  the  highest 
tribunal  in  the  land,  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 

The  lowest  court  in  Connecticut  is  the 
Justice's  Court  presided  over  by  a  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
a  town  official,  elected  at  the  state  elections  for  a  term 
of  two  years.  This  court  has  jurisdiction  over  petty 
civil  and  criminal  cases  but  the  decisions  are  almost 
always  subject  to  appeal  to  the  higher  courts. 

It  is  in  this  court  that  ordinary  small  offenders 
are  tried.  If  you  wished  to  have  anyone  arrested  your 
process  would  be  to  go  to  a  Grand  Juror  who,  upon  his 
oath  of  office,  writes  the  complaint  to  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace  who  issues  a  warrant  to  the  Constable  or  Sheriff. 
This  officer  must  then  serve  the  warrant,  make  the 
arrest  and  take  the  offender  before  the  Justice  who 
decides  whether  he  may  furnish  bail  (security  paid  to 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT         103 

the  court  and  held  to  guarantee  the  offender's  attend- 
ance at  the  trial)  or  if  he  must  be  held  in  custody  until 
the  case  is  called.  Criminal  cases  are  those  which  in- 
volve more  or  less  violence  done  against  the  peace,  law 
or  order  of  the  community ;  civil  cases  have  to  do  with 
personal  and  property  rights.  A  criminal  case  in  which 
the  taking  of  life  or  other  serious  offense  is  to  be  tried, 
may  not  come  before  this  first  minor  court  of  the  Justice; 
civil  cases  involving  more  than  $100  also  are  outside 
this  court's  jurisdiction. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Justice  and  of  all  higher 
judges  in  hearing  a  case  to  direct  the  proceeding  accord- 
ing to  definite  well  defined  processes  of  law.  If  the 
prisoner  pleads  guilty  the  judge  fixes  his  punishment 
according  to  the  law  which  specifies  the  exact  punish- 
ment for  each  offense.  It  may  be  fine  or  imprisonment. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  prisoner  declares  that  he  is 
not  guilty,  a  question  of  fact  has  arisen  and  the  case  is 
tried  before  a  jury.  This  is  the  petit  or  trial  jury,  twelve 
men  or  women  (in  the  western  states  women  also  serve 
on  juries)  residents  of  the  county  in  which  the  offense 
has  been  committed.  The  cases  that  are  tried  in  the 
Justice's  Court  come  before  juries  only  when  they  are 
carried  up  to  higher  courts. 

In  towns  which  have  consolidated  with  the 
city,  such  as  Hartford.  New  Haven  and  others,  the 
Justices  have  very  little  to  do.  Police  and  City  Courts 
have  almost  entirely  displaced  the  Justice's  Court,  the 
procedure  of  the  two  being  very  nearly  identical.  Like 
the  Justice's  Court  these  are  in  session  throughout  the 
day  and  are  the  courts  before  whom  the  small  offenders 
in  the  city  are  hailed.  Some  few  of  the  cities  have  both 
a  city  and  police  court  but  these  and  all  other  Connecti- 


!04        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

cut  towns  as  well,  continue  to  elect  their  justices  whether 
they  need  them  or  not.  Some  boroughs  have  a  Borough 
Court  corresponding  to  this  City  Court. 

The  next  higher  court  is  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  held  in  five  counties,  Hartford,  New  Haven, 
New  London,  Fairfield  and  Litchfield.  This  court  has 
civil  jurisdiction  in  cases  too  large  to  come  before 
the  Justices  or  the  Town,  Borough  or  City  Courts  and  is 
intended  to  relieve  the  pressure  of  work  which  would 
otherwise  fall  upon  the  Superior  Court.  It  also  has 
appellate  jurisdiction  of  cases  coming  to  it  from  the 
Justices*  Courts  or  from  City  Courts.  There  is,  besides 
these,  one  special  District  Court  held  in  Waterbury. 

The  Superior  Court  is  in  reality  a  state  court 
but  its  sessions  are  arranged  upon  the  basis  of  the 
county.  It  sits  in  each  county  for  certain  terms  accord- 
ing to  a  pre-arranged  calendar  and  cases  appealed  from 
the  lower  courts  are  brought  here  for  trial.  As  with 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  it  also  has  original  juris- 
diction over  cases  too  large  for  the  lower  courts. 

The  highest  court  in  Connecticut  is  called 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Errors.  The  state  is  divided  into 
three  judicial  districts  for  each  one  of  which  this  court 
holds  session  at  stated  times  in  some  convenient  place 
in  the  district.  Only  cases  on  appeal  may  be  taken  to 
this  court,  the  trials  being  entirely  a  question  of  error 
of  law  in  the  lower  court  and  not  one  of  the  guilt  or 
innocence  of  the  individual. 

Federal  courts  have  jurisdiction  over  such 
cases  as  cannot,  for  one  reason  or  another,  be  tried  in 
state  courts.  These  are  questions  that  have  to  do  with 
the  constitution,  laws  and  treaties  of  the  United  States, 
with    maritime    matters,    with    controversies    between 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT         105 

citizens  of  the  same  state  claiming  land  under  grants 
from  different  states,  with  ambassadors  and  pubHc 
ministers,  controversies  between  two  or  more  states  and 
other  similar  conflicts.  In  any  of  these  cases  the  fullest 
justice  and  uniformity  of  decision  could  hardly  be  ex- 
pected from  the  state  courts. 

The  lowest  federal  court  is  the  District  Court. 
TTie  entire  territory  of  our  country  is  divided  into  ninety 
judicial  districts  each  one  of  which  has  its  District 
Court.    Connecticut  constitutes  one  of  these  districts. 

There  is  above  this  court  a  United  States 
Circuit  Court  of  Appeals.  The  territory  of  the  United 
States  is  divided  again  into  nine  judicial  circuits  in  each 
one  of  which  a  circuit  court  is  held.  There  are  four 
judges  in  the  Second  Circuit;  five  judges  in  the  Seventh 
Circuit  and  five  in  the  Eighth  Circuit.  All  others  have 
three.  Connecticut  is  in  the  second  circuit.  Cases  may 
be  brought  to  this  court  from  the  District  Court  and  in 
a  certain  few  instances  may  be  appealed  from  this  court 
to  the  Supreme  Court. 

The  Court  of  Claims,  consisting  of  a  Chief 
Justice  and  four  Associate  Justices,  holds  session  once 
a  year  in  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  claims 
of  private  persons  against  the  government. 

The  United  States  Supreme  Court  is  the 
highest  judicial  body  in  our  government.  It  was  directly 
created  by  the  constitution  by  which  its  jurisdiction  was 
also  defined.  It  has  original  jurisdiction  in  cases  affect- 
ing ambassadors  and  in  cases  where  a  state  is  a  party. 
Other  cases  can  come  before  it  only  on  appeal  when, 
as  with  the  Supreme  Court  of  Errors,  it  determines 
whether  or  not  a  fair  and  correct  trial  has  been  had, 
the  matter  of  guilt  or  innocence  not  entering  in. 


106        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

All  Federal  Judges  are  appointed  to  office 
for  life  and  may  be  removed  only  upon  impeachment. 
This  has,  in  some  instances,  kept  men  in  office  after  they 
had,  because  of  age  or  disease,  lost  their  faculties. 
Twice  Federal  Judges  have  become  insane  but  still 
retained  their  office  because  no  legal  method  for  remov- 
ing them  had  been  provided. 


107 


XII. 
TAXATION 

/^NE  of  the  first  rights  with  which  a  unit  of  gov- 
^^  ernment  is  empowered,  is  that  of  levying  taxes  for 
its  maintenance.  The  theory  upon  which  taxes  are 
based  is  that  of  proportionate  payment  according  to  the 
amount  of  worldly  goods  we  possess.  It  is  presumed 
that  the  more  property  one  owns  the  more  he  will  need 
and  use  the  services  of  his  government  in  affording  him 
protection  in  his  rights  and  therefore,  the  more  he  should 
pay  into  his  government.  Also  the  more  opportunities 
for  human  happiness  he  enjoys,  the  more  able  and  will- 
ing he  should  be  to  contribute  to  a  government  which 
aims  to  secure  these  blessings  to  others. 

Thus  far  our  system  of  taxation  is  sound  in 
theory  but  has  grown  and  developed  and  may  be 
seen  to  be  working  itself  out  in  ways  that  are  many 
times  manifestly  unfair.  A  very  large  human  element 
enters  in  and  we  may  by  no  means  be  sure  that  justice 
is  always  either  the  aim  or  the  accomplishment  of  our 
system  of  taxation.  Great  volumes  have  been  written, 
men  have  given  their  lives  to  the  working  out  of  a  more 
just  method  but  thus  far,  though  it  is  as  we  can  see 
a  sort  of  penalizing  of  industry — the  more  one  works 
and  saves  the  more  taxes  he  must  pay, —  though  we 
are  most  of  us  not  quite  blissfully  content  when  the  tax 
question  comes  up,  no  better  system  has  sufficiently 
recommended  itself  to  us  for  us  to  have  adopted  it.  As 
a  rather  grim  piece  of  business  we  regard  it,  and  once 
a  year  when  the  tax  bills  come  we  go  grimly  forth  to 


108        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

pay  them  and  then  make  up  our  minds  to  forget  it  till 
next  year.  But  they  are  not  easily  forgotten.  They 
seem  in  fact  particularly  powerful  in  impressing  us — 
in  scarring  our  memories,  and  as  politicians  very  well 
know  there  is  no  richer  mine  in  which  to  prospect  for 
votes  than  that  of  golden  promises  of  reduced  taxes. 
There  seems  to  be  no  word  in  our  language  more 
fraught  with  power  than  this  one.  In  the  minds  of  not 
a  few  of  us  an  unaccountable  inversion  seems  to  have 
taken  place  and  we  think  of  our  government  as  existing 
for  the  purpose  of  taxing  us  rather  than  of  our  taxes  as 
a  necessary  but  very  subordinate  adjunct  of  our  govern- 
ment. 

There  are  at  least  two  points  in  regard  to 
taxes  that  we  need  to  make  clear  to  ourselves.  Though 
we  pay  them,  usually,  most  of  them,  in  one  lump  sum, 
they  are  assessed  by  the  various  units  co-operating  one 
with  another — against  us,  we  sometimes  think.  The 
state,  the  county,  the  town,  the  city  each  one  files  its 
claim  of  what  it  will  need  to  conduct  its  business,  these 
various  sums  are  added  and  we,  the  people,  are  asked 
to  meet  them.  We  meet  them  very  directly,  a  direct 
tax  upon  our  real  property  and  upon  our  personal 
possessions  called  real  property  tax  and  personal  prop- 
erty tax.  Real  property  may  in  this  case  be  defined 
as  evident,  definite  fixed  possessions  such  as  land,  houses, 
factories,  etc.,  those  things  quite  apart  from  us,  which 
we  may  own  but  which  we  cannot  carry  about  with  us. 
Personal  property  covers  the  wide  remaining  field  of 
our  other,  portable  possessions,  household  furniture, 
jewelry,  carriages  and  horses,  even  stocks  and  bonds,  all 
those  things  which  we  might,  metaphorically,  carry 
about  with  us  in  our  vest  pocket  and  which  are  presum- 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT         109 

ably  attached  to  our  persons  and  quite  capable  of  being 
transferred  from  one  city  or  state  to  another  according 
as  we  ourselves  seek  out  and  find  a  convenient  place 
where  the  tax  rate  is  not  too  high.  Actually,  of  course, 
we  do  not  have  to  carry  such  possessions  with  us  in  order 
to  bring  them  under  the  gentler  assessment  of  this  more 
friendly  neighborhood.  The  furniture  may  remain  in 
our  city  homes,  our  bonds  may  rest  in  the  strong  box  of 
the  city  bank  but  when  we  take  ourselves  off  to  our 
country  shacks  where  "nature  provides  and  taxes  are 
low/*  all  this  personal  property  is  supposed  to  flit  away 
with  us  to  meet  more  charitable  treatment  than  that 
meted  out  by  city  government. 

A  second  point  which  we  need  to  make  clear 
to  ourselves  in  regard  to  taxation  is  this:  after  the 
government  has  sought  out  all  these  several  kinds  of 
property  and  laid  its  assessment  upon  them  it  is  still  not 
through  with  us.  It  catches  us  by  an  indirect  tax  also. 
And  this,  presumably,  we  pay  without  knowing  it. 

The  indirect  taxes  are  levied  by  Congress, 
collected  through  a  system  of  duties,  imposts  and  excises 
and  are  used  for  the  support  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment. The  most  remarkable  thing  about  the  indirect 
tax  is  that  it  is  this  shiftable  blessing.  The  man  who 
hands  out  the  money  to  the  government  for  this  indirect 
tax  is  acting  merely  as  a  loan  agent.  He  advances  the 
money,  all  of  which  he  refunds  very  handsomely  to 
himself  after  he  has  recollected  it  more  or  less  indirectly 
from  us,  the  people.  Again  we  meet  the  old  truth  that 
we,  the  people,  always  pay. 

The  duties  or  imposts  through  which  the 
National  Government  collects  its  tax  are  that  sum 
charged  for  permission  to  bring  foreign  goods  into  our 


1 10        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

ports  and  put  them  upon  our  markets.  This  is  deter- 
mined by  law,  exactly  what  articles  are  subject  to  duty 
and  how  much,  and  this  money  is  paid  by  the  importer 
to  the  government  agents,  but  it  is,  of  course,  added  to 
the  selling  price  of  the  article  so  that  the  importer  incurs 
no  loss  from  it. 

The  National  Government  also  obtains  large 
revenues  from  a  second  form  of  tax,  excises.  This  is 
a  sum  charged  for  the  manufacture,  sale  and  consump- 
tion of  certain  articles  within  our  own  country.  Liquor 
and  tobacco  are  the  two  commodities  from  which  in 
ordinary  times  most  of  our  internal  revenue  is  derived, 
but  oleomargerine,  perfumes,  cosmetics  and  various 
other  articles  not  in  the  class  of  necessities  are  also  sub- 
ject to  this  tax  which  must  be  paid  before  they  are  put 
on  the  market,  usually  by  stamps  which  the  manufac- 
turer must  purchase  from  the  government  and  affix. 
But  again  this  amount  is  m.erely  added  to  the  selling 
price.  In  unusual  times  and  for  such  purposes  as  financ- 
ing a  war  or  paying  off  v/ar  or  other  national  debts  this 
excise  tax  may  be  laid  upon  many  other  articles. 

Besides  these  federal  taxes.  Congress  in  1916 
passed  the  income  tax  bill,  a  law  providing  for  certain 
levied  per  cents,  upon  all  incomes.  Many  men  and 
women  who  own  no  property  yet  have  a  large  income 
from  their  profession  or  occupation.  It  is  only  fair  that 
these  people  should  pay  their  portion  for  the  support 
of  their  government.  But  the  income  tax  as  it  wa^ 
passed  and  amended  applies  to  incomes  from  all  sources 
and  is  an  additional  tax,  not  a  substitute  for  the  regularly 
levied  direct  tax  upon  real  and  personal  property.  TTie 
original  bill  provided  for  a  tax  upon  incomes  of  married 
couples  above  $4,000,  of  single  persons  above  $3,000, 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT         1 1 1 

The  1917  amendment  reduced  this  personal  exemption 
to  $2,000  and  $1,000  respectively.  An  additional 
surtax  is  also  added  upon  incomes  of  $7,500  and  above, 
the  per  cent,  of  this  increasing  as  the  income  rises. 

All  but  five  of  our  states  have  some  form  of 
inheritance  tax,  varying  as  to  conditions,  rate  and 
amount  of  exemptions  in  different  states.  The  provision 
in  Connecticut  is  as  follows: 

To  husband,  wife,  parent,  grand-parent, 
descendants,  adopted  parents  or  children  or  their 
descendants.  I  %.  $10,000  to  $50,000;  1% .  $50,000 
to  $250,000;  37^.  $250,000  to  $1,000,000;  47^. 
above  $1,000,000. 

To  brother,  sister,  their  descendants,  step- 
child, son-in-law,  daughter-in-law,  3%,  $3,000  to 
$25,000;  57r.  $25,000  to  $50,000;  67^.  $50,000  to 
$250,000;  7%,  $250,000  to  $1,000,000;  %%  above 
$1,000,000. 

To  others  more  remote  5%.  $500  to 
$50,000;  6%.  $50,000  to  $250,000;  77^.  $250,000 
to  $1,000,000;  87o  above  $1,000,000. 

The  federal  inheritance  tax  is  levied  upon 
estates  exceeding  $50,000.  The  rate  does  not  depend 
upon  the  relationship  of  the  beneficiary  and  runs  from 

1%  to  257o. 

TTie  poll  and  military  or  personal  tax  is 
another  method  by  which  Connecticut  levies  a  tax.  All 
men  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  sixty  are  taxed 
$2  a  year.  The  poll  tax  list,  containing  the  names  of 
all  male  persons  in  the  town,  is  made  up  by  men  ap- 
pointed by  the  Registrars  for  that  purpose.  The  bill  for 


112        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

this  tax  is  sent  to  each  man  in  January  and  must  be  paid 
during  February.  Failure  to  pay  makes  one  Hable  to 
imprisonment.  In  only  a  few  of  the  states  is  this  poll 
tax  in  operation.     It  is  a  form  of  direct  tax. 

The  method  of  assessment  and  collection  of 
taxes  in  Connecticut  has  been  given  in  the  chapter  of 
Town  Government.  Another  word  of  explanation 
might  be  of  advantage. 

County  Taxes  are  assessed  once  in  two  years 
by  the  State  Legislators  from  each  county.  Each 
town's  quota  of  state  and  county  taxes  is  determined 
from  the  Town  Treasurer's  report  of  the  Grand  List — 
list  of  all  property — and  of  the  receipts  from  taxes, 
by  the  State  Board  of  Finance  and  Equalization,  made 
up  of  the  State  Treasurer,  Comptroller  and  Tax  Com- 
missioner. The  Town  Treasurer  must  pay  the  county's 
quota  of  the  collected  taxes  to  the  County  Treasurer 
by  the  1st  day  of  September,  the  state's  quota  to  the 
State  Treasurer  by  the  1 0th  of  November. 

City,  borough  and  school  tcixes  are  not  al- 
ways included  in  the  general  list  and  the  bill  which  we 
receive  annually.  They  may  be  collected  at  a  different 
time  of  the  year,  and  the  bill  may  be  sent  separately. 
A  general  school  tax  is  usually  laid  upon  the  city  or 
town  applicable  to  all  the  people  in  all  the  wards.  To 
this  is  added  any  special  tax  for  the  different  districts 
according  to  the  number  of  new  school  buildings  or  any 
other  special  expenditure  which  has  been  made  for  each 
district.  The  amount  of  this  special  school  tax  is  deter- 
mined at  the  district  school  meeting.  The  Board  of 
Finance  has  reconmiended  a  School  Equalization  Tcix 
but  it  has  not  yet  been  adopted. 

A  few  of  the  cities  have  special  tax  districts 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT         113 

made  for  other  purposes  than  for  the  collection  of  school 
taxes.  In  some  cities,  usually  those  which  have  been 
consolidated  from  two  or  more  smaller  cities,  each  dis- 
trict will  have  undertaken  some  special  improvement  for 
which  the  people  in  only  the  one  district  are  and  should 
be  taxed.  Some  of  the  states  have  been  districted  for 
taxes  throughout  their  entire  territory.  In  Connecticut, 
except  for  the  instances  noted,  the  town  division  is  used 
as  the  basis  of  the  tax  district. 

Let  us  once  more  state,  in  bare  outline,  the 
process  and  dates  by  which  taxes  are  collected;  taking 
Hartford,  the  state  capitol.  as  our  model. 

Tax  list  must  be  filled  out  and  sworn  to 
between  October  1st  and  November  1st. 

Assessors  make  out  tax  roll  by  February  Isl. 

Board  of  Relief  sits  the  first  20  working  days 
in  February. 

Board  of  Finance  sits  in  March  and  sets  tax 
rate. 

They  report  back  to  Common  Council  who 
must  act  before  April  1  st. 

Rate-maker  then  makes  out  bills,  in  rate  book, 
of  every  person's  school,  city,  and  sinking  fund  tax  and 
turns  these  bills  over  to  collector. 

Collector  sends  out  bills  July  1st. 

Must  be  paid  by  August  I  st  or  J/2  of  I  % 
per  month  is  added. 

Taxes  are  paid  in  the  Town  Treasurer's 
office. 

Tax  bill  is  lien  on  property,  without  record, 
one  year  from  date  tsix  is  due. 


1 14        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

Collector  then  files  in  town  clerk's  office  this 
lien  which  continues  life  of  tax. 

Delinquents  notified  December  10th. 

The  following  April  Collector  must  report 
all  unpaid  taxes  to  Corporation  Counsel.  He  brings 
suit. 

At  end  of  three  years,  property  is  sold  for 
taxes. 


115 


XIII. 
NEW  PROBLEMS. 

TF  this  brief  survey  of  the  government  of  Connecticut 
^  has  done  anything  for  us,  it  should  have  shown  us 
that  there  is  much  in  the  legal  provisions  and  in  the  gov- 
ernmental ideal  of  the  state  of  which  we  may  be  proud. 
The  adherence  to  the  ideal  of  pure  democracy  in  the 
town  government,  the  way  in  which  minority  repre- 
sentation has  been  preserved  in  the  elective  and  ap- 
pointed boards  of  the  local  and  state  government,  Con- 
necticut's share  in  forming  the  national  constitution 
through  her  contribution  of  the  two-house  representa- 
tive plan  and  indeed  her  example  in  having  been  the 
first  unit  on  the  continent  to  adopt  a  written  constitution 
— all  this  gives  the  little  state  of  Connecticut  a  very  high 
place  in  the  political  history  of  the  United  States. 

But  such  an  honorable  past  should  be  much 
more  than  a  mere  matter  in  which  we  take  pride  and  of 
which  we  may.  on  occasions,  become  boastful.  Its 
chief  value  lies  in  the  obligation  which  it  places  upon 
us  to  lift  up  our  own  governmental  ideals  and  activities 
to  that  high  standard  which  was  set  for  us  in  the  past. 
We  must  not  fall  below  the  fathers.  If  they  believed 
in  the  precious  principle  of  democracy,  we,  with  the 
growth  of  years  and  the  larger  opportunity  of  seeing 
those  principles  worked  out,  should  believe  twice  fer- 
vently; if  they  sought  to  put  democracy  into  practice, 
we,  with  a  more  developed  social  consciousness,  should 
lend  even  a  larger  part  of  our  effort  to  that  end;  if 
they  had  a  fine  gift  of  loyalty  and  support  to  make  to 


n6        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

the  national  government,  we  should  in  even  greater 
measure,  be  willing  to  sink  our  peculiar  differences  and 
give  ourselves  over  to  the  support  of  the  larger  ideals 
of  union  which  our  nation  is  now  seeking  to  adopt. 

This  will  perhaps  carry  us  afield,  apart  from 
the  ideals  which  our  fathers  adopted.  They,  in  their 
time,  saw  no  larger  ideal  than  that  of  the  nation.  So 
deeply  did  they  feel  the  differences  between  themselves 
and  other  peoples  that  they  pledged  themselves  to  the 
principle  of  separateness,  remaining  apart  from  entang- 
ling alliances.  But  just  as  the  state,  come  to  its  time  of 
self-consciousness  in  those  days,  was  willing  to  surrender 
somewhat  of  its  power  and  become  one  of  a  group  to 
form  a  larger  union,  so  in  our  day  is  it  not  incumbent 
upon  us  to  lead  on  ahead  of  their  ideal  and  be  willing  to 
surrender  somewhat  of  our  nationalism  in  order  that  a 
larger  union  of  the  peoples  of  the  earth  may  be  accom- 
plished? To  become  an  essential  part  not  alone  of  a 
nation  but  of  a  world  is  the  goal  of  present-day  de- 
velopment. 

The  European  nations  have  never  found  it 
easy  to  comprehend  this  union  of  states  which  we  have 
set  up  here  on  our  continent,  able  to  preserve  the  indi- 
vidual character  of  the  states  and  yet  together  to  pre- 
sent such  a  solid  national  front.  But  we  have  held 
always  that  it  could  be  done,  that  we  were,  in  fact, 
doing  it.  And  undoubtedly  much  of  the  richness  of 
our  American  life  comes  from  the  fact  that  we  have 
been  able  to  preserve  our  state  individuality.  That 
there  has  gone  into  our  union  a  thrifty  New  England, 
a  romantic  South,  a  reckless  West,  a  prideful  Massa- 
chusetts, a  Kansas,  "raw  and  stripped  for  action,"  a 
Wyoming  that  so  early  learned  the  value  of  its  women 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT         117 

— these  have  made  us  what  we  are  and  should  every 
one  be  counted  a  precious  contribution.  But  though 
these  differences  will  probably  be  in  some  measure  pre- 
served, is  it  not  evident  that  above  them  there  has  grown 
and  should  continue  to  grow  a  very  deep  sense  of  our 
oneness  ? 

We  recognize  this  unifying  influence  of  our 
nation  well  enough  in  its  effect  upon  the  foreigner,  hav- 
ing long  since  grown  boastful  of  our  almost  superhuman 
power  to  melt  down  differences  in  this  great  cauldron 
of  America  and  to  make  good  democrats  of  the  worst 
and  the  best  of  them  that  come  to  us.  But  the  older, 
deeper  differences  between  ourselves,  while  certainly 
not  so  essential  and  likely  to  cause  trouble  as  differences 
between  foreign  peoples,  we  have  imagined  were  still 
constituting  a  basis  for  disagreement  which  it  is  not  easy 
to  forget.  We  have  in  mind  that  answer  of  the 
lady  from  Boston  to  the  suggestion  that  it  was  high  time 
for  the  West  to  have  its  turn  at  controlling  the  national 
government:  **But  they  don't  know  what  we  want.** 
Her  **we**  was  a  good  deal  like  that  of  the  old  fathers, 
whose  "we,  the  people**  meant  the  people  who  were 
like  us.  who  believed  as  we  did  in  religion,  who  had  as 
much  money  and  education  as  we  had.  That  in  con- 
sequence the  franchise  was  limited  to  one  man  in  seven 
was  a  detail  which  they  overlooked. 

Though  Connecticut,  at  certain  periods  in  her  early 
history,  had  been  among  those  New  Elngland  states 
that  threatened  to  secede  from  the  Union — at  that  time 
such  a  threat  brought  no  particular  odium — in  the  criti- 
cal days  of  the  Civil  War  it  stood  faithful  to  the  Fed- 
eral Government.  It  recognized  the  value  of  the 
larger  unit  and  the  importance  of  preserving  it.     What- 


118        THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT 

ever  economic  or  trade  interests  may  have  been  back  of 
those  disagreements  out  of  which  the  war  grew,  the  war 
itself,  the  suffering  and  sacrifice  of  it,  stripped  the  ideal 
and  left  it  pure  and  bare.  They  fought  to  preserve  the 
Union,  putting  state  differences  aside.  And  the  victory 
they  won  was  a  victory  for  the  larger  union,  larger  than 
the  men  of  those  days  realized,  a  more  complete  union 
than  we  ourselves  knew  until  this  later  war  came  to  give 
us  proof  of  it. 

When  we  joined  forces  with  the  Allies  and 
placed  the  whole  wealth  and  man  and  woman  power 
of  the  nation  back  of  the  fagged  forces  of  England  and 
France  and  Belgium  and  Italy  and  Russia,  undoubt- 
edly a  new  significance  was  given  to  our  union.  We 
were  ourselves  almost  surprised  to  find  North  and 
South,  East  and  West  so  fully  and  completely  in  ac- 
cord. We  were  one  people,  united  to  secure  a  great 
moral  as  well  as  military  victory.  Democracy — the 
ideal  which  we  had  cherished  always,  to  which,  we 
boasted,  we  had  given  especial  significance — was  in 
danger.  We  must  go  forth  to  see  that  it  vanish  not  off 
the  face  of  the  earth.  As  one  man  we  rose  and  gave 
ourselves. 

It  was  a  moment  of  high  uplift  for  our  souls. 
We  moved  as  those  whose  eyes  were  filled  with  the 
glory  of  the  Lord.  We  understood  humanity;  we 
comprehended  brotherhood.  The  lowly,  the  oppressed, 
the  suffering,  they  were  our  charges.  We  must  see 
that  world  justice  was  established.  We  cared  not  for 
color  or  race  or  creed  or  sex.  We  claimed  a  kinship 
with  all  of  them.  We  had  wiped  out  our  nationality 
and  set  up  a  newer,  broader  better  ideal.  We  were 
one  with  mankind.     We  were  brothers  of  all  men. 


THE  ACTUAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT         119 

And  now  that  the  war  is  over,  we  find  our- 
selves suddenly  and  sharply  confronted  with  a  question 
— this  question:  Did  we  mean  it  and  if  so  how  far? 
Did  we  mean  that  henceforth  we  are  to  be  brothers  to 
all  men?  Did  we  mean  that  we,  the  people  of  Con- 
necticut, are  able  and  willing  to  think  of  ourselves  as 
members  of  a  larger  union  given  over  to  the  purposes  of 
justice  and  peace?  Are  we  willing  to  sink  any  offen- 
sive differences  not  of  states  but  of  peoples  and  nations 
and  to  declare  for  a  social  world,  linking  ourselves  as 
individuals,  as  a  state,  as  a  nation,  in  a  larger  union  of 
world  peoples?  Upon  our  answer  to  these  questions 
will  depend  the  future  history  not  alone  of  Connecticut, 
but  of  the  world  also.  Whether  we  wish  it  or  not. 
whether  we  realize  it  or  choose  to  ignore  it.  our  hand, 
our  voice  is  necessary  in  the  building  of  the  new  world. 
Let  us  see  to  it.  for  the  sake  of  the  world  no  less  than  for 
our  own  sake  that  we  are  not  found  wanting.  Our 
fate  and  that  of  the  world  are  indissolubly  bound  to- 
gether. With  the  new  world  standing,  we  will  stand 
also ;  with  the  world  gone  back  to  the  old  pre-war  stand- 
ard, we  also  go  into  the  pit. 

These  are  some  of  the  new  problems  which 
the  men  and  women  of  the  world  and  of  Connecticut 
will  be  called  upon  to  solve.  And  the  solution  will 
finally  be  expressed  through  this  machinery  we  call  gov- 
ernment. It  is  in  looking  toward  this  great  end  that 
the  study  of  our  own  Connecticut  government  should 
be  given  especial  significance. 


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